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

shì to explain, to interpret; to release 12 strokes · Radical (to distinguish) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 释 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 shì.

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
释 — 12 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

breaks down into 1 component arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

=
left to distinguish

Radical

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

How the character is built

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

HSK 4 Words Containing 释

jiěshì to explain; explanation
请你解释一下这个词的意思。
Qǐng nǐ jiěshì yíxià zhège cí de yìsi.
Please explain the meaning of this word.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 14 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

小夏把误会解清楚了。
From Mock Exam 16 →
后来,他们把这些解写成了一本书,叫做《周公解梦》。
From Mock Exam 14 →

Tasks Featuring 释 / 相关任务

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

📚 谈论教学、学习情况
Education & Learning · 解释

FAQ

What does 释 mean in Chinese?

释 (shì) means to explain, to interpret; to release. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 释 have?

释 is written in 12 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 释?

The radical of 释 is 釆 (to distinguish).

What is the pinyin for 释?

释 is pronounced shì.

What HSK 4 words use 释?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 释 appears in 1 word, including 解释 (jiěshì). See the full list above.

shì All Characters shi / chí →