How to write (yán) — Stroke Order, Radical & Practice

yán to grind, to rub; to study, to research 9 strokes · Radical (stone) · HSK 4 required writing character

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced yán.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
研 — 9 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

=
left stone
right to open

Radical

The radical of is — meaning stone. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: .

How the character is built

is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component (stone) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 研

yánjiū to research; to study
她正在研究中国古代文化。
Tā zhèngzài yánjiū Zhōngguó gǔdài wénhuà.
She is researching ancient Chinese culture.
究生 yánjiūshēng graduate student; postgraduate
她正在读研究生。
Tā zhèngzài dú yánjiūshēng.
She is studying for a graduate degree.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 28 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

究证明,女孩子们对衣服颜色的选择往往与她们的性格有关。
From Mock Exam 02 →

Tasks Featuring 研 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论某个人物
Describe a Person · 研究生
📚 介绍新技术应用及科技成果
Technology · 研究

FAQ

What does 研 mean in Chinese?

研 (yán) means to grind, to rub; to study, to research. It is one of the 150 characters required for the HSK 4 writing section.

How many strokes does 研 have?

研 is written in 9 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 研?

The radical of 研 is 石 (stone). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 确, 础, 破, 硕.

What is the pinyin for 研?

研 is pronounced yán.

What HSK 4 words use 研?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 研 appears in 2 words, including 研究 (yánjiū), 研究生 (yánjiūshēng). See the full list above.

All Characters chéng →