筷 (kuài): chopstick

筷 (kuài) is a Chinese character meaning “chopstick.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (semantic) and 快 (phonetic). It ranks #2801 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 筷 bamboo. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. chopstick

Etymology & Origin

筷

pictophoneticbamboo

Decomposition: ⿱⺮快 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Practice writing 筷 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 筷

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
筷子nounkuài zichopsticks3

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
碗筷nounwǎn kuàibowl and chopsticks
端起碗吃肉,放下筷子骂娘duān qǐ wǎn chī ròu , fàng xià kuài zi mà niánglit. to eat meat from one's bowl, then put down one's chopsticks and scold one's mother (idiom)
火筷子nounhuǒ kuài zifire tongs
卫生筷nounwèi shēng kuàidisposable chopsticks
环保筷huán bǎo kuàireusable chopsticks (Tw)
筷子腿kuài zi tuǐ(coll.) skinny legs
公筷母匙phrasegōng kuài mǔ chí(Tw) serving chopsticks and serving spoons used in communal dining to promote hygiene
公筷noungōng kuàiserving chopsticks
筷子芥kuài zi jièArabis, a genus of Brassica family including cress
免洗筷miǎn xǐ kuài(Tw) disposable chopsticks
11
Total compounds
27
As first character
45
As last character
27
As middle character

筷 appears in 11 compound words: 27 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 27 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 筷 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

碗wǎn
0.49396 co-occurrences
夹jiā
0.43636 co-occurrences
子zǐ
0.4282,632 co-occurrences
匙chí
0.42842 co-occurrences
勺sháo
0.42614 co-occurrences
基jī
0.414802 co-occurrences
饭fàn
0.38932 co-occurrences
敲qiāo
0.38622 co-occurrences
洗xǐ
0.38372 co-occurrences
拌bàn
0.38312 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

公筷母匙gōngkuàimǔchíHSK 4+

serving chopsticks and spoons

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

筷字在日常生活中使用频率中等。

kuài zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .

The character "筷" is used moderately frequently in daily life.

爱范儿Aug 2026

上影与筷子科技上线“昊帧影视创制平台” 上海科技影都近日上线“昊帧影视创制平台”。

shàng yǐng yǔ kuài zǐ kē jì shàng xiàn 昊 帧 yǐng shì chuàng zhì píng tái shàng hǎi kē jì yǐng dōu jìn rì shàng xiàn 昊 帧 yǐng shì chuàng zhì píng tái .

Shanghai Film Studio and Chopsticks Technology Launch the “Haozheng Film and Television Production Platform” Shanghai Science and Technology Film City recently launched the “Haozheng Film and Television Production Platform.”

爱范儿Aug 2026

其实,这套由筷子科技和上影共同打造的专业级影视智能体底座,其能力并未止步于此。

qí shí , zhè tào yóu kuài zǐ kē jì hé shàng yǐng gòng tóng dǎ zào de zhuān yè jí yǐng shì zhì néng tǐ de zuò , qí néng lì bìng wèi zhǐ bù yú cǐ .

In fact, the capabilities of this professional-grade smart film and television platform—developed jointly by Chopsticks Technology and Shanghai Film Group—don’t stop there.

中国新闻网·生活Jun 2026

但是, 筷子真的要勤换!

dàn shì , kuài zǐ zhēn de yāo qín huàn !

However, you really should change your chopsticks often!

EttodayMar 2026

筷子夹手棍棒敲头还掐颈!凌虐4岁童害终身脑...

kuài zǐ jiā shǒu gùn bàng qiāo tóu hái qiā jǐng ! líng nüè 4 suì tóng hài zhōng shēn nǎo . . .

Using chopsticks to pinch, sticks to hit the head, and even choking the neck! Torturing a 4-year-old child caused lifelong brain damage...

EttodayMar 2026

鸟贵族首度跨出台北市 桃园首店落脚ATT筷食尚

niǎo guì zú shǒu dù kuà chū tái běi shì táo yuán shǒu diàn luò jiǎo A T T kuài shí shàng

Bird Nobility Expands Beyond Taipei for the First Time; First Taoyuan Location Opens at ATT Kuaishi Shang

Tatoeba

你会用筷子吃饭吗?

Nǐ huì yòng kuàizi chī fàn ma?

Do you know how to eat with chopsticks?

Tatoeba

你知道要怎么拿筷子才是正确的吗?

Nǐ zhīdào yào zěnme ná kuàizi cái shì zhèngquè de ma?

Do you know how to correctly hold chopsticks?

Tatoeba

我们用筷子,不用刀叉。

Wǒmen yòng kuàizi, bù yòng dāochā.

We use chopsticks in place of knives and forks.

Tatoeba

每次我去日本餐馆,我都会把筷子带回家。

Měicì wǒ qù Rìběn cānguǎn, wǒ dōu huì bǎ kuàizi dàihuí jiā.

Every time I go to a Japanese restaurant, I bring the chopsticks home.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the ⺮ (bamboo) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced kuài

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 筷 (kuài) mean in Chinese?
筷 (kuài) primarily means "chopstick." It is classified as HSK Level 3, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #2801 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 筷 have?
筷 is written with 13 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 筷?
The radical associated with 筷 is 竹 (bamboo). This radical appears in many characters related to bamboo.
What are the components of 筷?
筷 is composed of: ⺮ (semantic), 快 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱⺮快 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 筷?
Common words with 筷 include: 筷子 (kuài zi, "chopsticks"); 碗筷 (wǎn kuài, "bowl and chopsticks"); 端起碗吃肉,放下筷子骂娘 (duān qǐ wǎn chī ròu , fàng xià kuài zi mà niáng, "lit. to eat meat from one's bowl, then put down one's chopsticks and scold one's mother (idiom)"); 火筷子 (huǒ kuài zi, "fire tongs"); 卫生筷 (wèi shēng kuài, "disposable chopsticks"). There are over 11 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 筷 (kuài)?
Several characters share the pronunciation kuài: 快 (fast, happy), 块 (piece, lump). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 筷 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 筷 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 筷 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.