(suān) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

suān tart, sour; spoiled; acid 14 strokes · Radical (wine) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 酸 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced suān.

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 10 11 12 13 14
酸 — 14 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 wine
right to dawdle

Radical

The radical of is — meaning wine. 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 an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. Wine 酉 aged too long 夋; 夋 also provides the pronunciation.

HSK 4 Words Containing 酸

suān sour; tart
这个柠檬太酸了。
Zhège níngméng tài suān le.
This lemon is too sour.
suānnǎi yogurt
早餐我喝了一杯酸奶。
Zǎocān wǒ hē le yì bēi suānnǎi.
I had a cup of yogurt for breakfast.

Tasks Featuring 酸 / 相关任务

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

📚 介绍饮食情况
Food & Dining · 酸、酸奶

FAQ

What does 酸 mean in Chinese?

酸 (suān) means tart, sour; spoiled; acid. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 酸 have?

酸 is written in 14 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 酸?

The radical of 酸 is 酉 (wine). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 醒.

What is the pinyin for 酸?

酸 is pronounced suān.

What HSK 4 words use 酸?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 酸 appears in 2 words, including 酸 (suān), 酸奶 (suānnǎi). See the full list above.

All Characters sūn →