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

shí food; to eat 9 strokes · Radical 食 (food) · HSK 4 required writing character

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced shí.

food
to eat

Stroke Order & Practice

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

Decomposition

食 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Top + Bottom. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

食 =

人 top man

良 bottom good

Radical

The radical of 食 is 食 — meaning food. 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: 餐.

How the character is built

食 is a pictograph — a stylized image of the thing it names. It originally depicted A dish of food 良 with a lid on top 人.

HSK 4 Words Containing 食

零食 língshí snack; nibbles

小朋友们都爱吃零食。

Xiǎopéngyoumen dōu ài chī língshí.

Kids all love to eat snacks.

美食 měishí delicious food; gourmet food

成都有很多美食。

Chéngdū yǒu hěn duō měishí.

Chengdu has lots of delicious food.

食品 shípǐn food; food product

这家超市的食品很新鲜。

Zhè jiā chāoshì de shípǐn hěn xīnxiān.

The food at this supermarket is very fresh.

食堂 shítáng canteen; cafeteria

中午我在食堂吃饭。

Zhōngwǔ wǒ zài shítáng chīfàn.

I eat lunch in the cafeteria.

食物 shíwù food

请不要浪费食物。

Qǐng búyào làngfèi shíwù.

Please don't waste food.

FAQ

What does 食 mean in Chinese?

食 (shí) means food; to eat. It is one of the 150 characters required for the HSK 4 writing section.

How many strokes does 食 have?

食 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 食?

The radical of 食 is 食 (food). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 餐.

What is the pinyin for 食?

食 is pronounced shí.

What HSK 4 words use 食?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 食 appears in 5 words, including 零食 (língshí), 美食 (měishí), 食品 (shípǐn), 食堂 (shítáng). See the full list above.