如 (rú): as, if
如 (rú) is a Chinese character meaning “as, if.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 女 (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #67 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 如 a wife 女 following her husband's words 口. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- as, if
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA wife 女 following her husband's words 口
Decomposition: ⿰女口 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 如 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 如
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 如果conjunction | rú guǒ | if | 3 |
| 如何pronoun | rú hé | how | 5 |
| 如此pronoun | rú cǐ | like this | 5 |
| 比如verb | bǐ rú | for example | 3 |
| 假如conjunction | jiǎ rú | if | 5 |
| 如今noun | rú jīn | nowadays | 5 |
| 不如verb | bù rú | not equal to | 4 |
| 如同verb | rú tóng | like | 5 |
| 例如verb | lì rú | for example | 4 |
| 如下verb | rú xià | as follows | 5 |
| 犹如verb | yóu rú | similar to | 6 |
| 正如verb | zhèng rú | just as | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 比如说 | bǐ rú shuō | for example |
| 自如 | zì rú | unobstructed |
| 不仅如此 | bù jǐn rú cǐ | not only that, but ... |
| 如意 | rú yì | as one wants |
| 如愿 | rú yuàn | to have one's wishes fulfilled |
| 如实 | rú shí | as things really are |
| 诸如 | zhū rú | (various things) such as |
| 有如 | yǒu rú | to be like sth |
| 譬如 | pì rú | for example |
| 宛如 | wǎn rú | to be just like |
| 不过如此 | bù guò rú cǐ | (idiom) nothing more than this |
| 暴跳如雷 | bào tiào rú léi | to stamp with fury |
| 如常 | rú cháng | as usual |
| 如期 | rú qī | as scheduled |
| 度日如年 | dù rì rú nián | a day drags past like a year (idiom) |
如 appears in 100 compound words: 35 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 32 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 如 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (133)
to love money as if it were one's life; to be extremely stingy or greedy for money
to love one's country as one's own family (praise for a virtuous ruler)
(idiom) nothing more than this; that's all; no big deal; not very impressive
Showing 12 of 133 idioms containing 如.
Example Sentences
如果明天下雨，我们的户外活动就要取消了。
Rúguǒ míngtiān xiàyǔ, wǒmen de hùwài huódòng jiù yào qǔxiāo le.
If it rains tomorrow, our outdoor activities will have to be canceled.
拨乱反正:和委会还不如金砖上合
bō luàn fǎn zhèng : hé wěi huì hái bù rú jīn zhuān shàng gě
Rectify the chaos: the peace committee is not as good as the BRICS SCO
食八宝饭误吞枣核 62岁翁肚大如孕妇
shí bā bǎo fàn wù tūn zǎo hé 6 2 suì wēng dù dà rú yùn fù
Eating eight treasure rice and mistakenly swallowing jujube kernels, the 62-year-old man's belly is as big as a pregnant woman
茶香氤氲,温情暖暖~看阿婆爷叔如何解锁“行云流水”..
chá xiāng 氤 氲 , wēn qíng nuǎn nuǎn kàn ā pó yé shū rú hé jiě suǒ háng yún liú shuǐ . .
The tea is fragrant, warm and warm~ See how grandma and uncle unlock "flowing water":
新春走基层|如愿!守岛30年的海军“兵王”登上军舰
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng rú yuàn ! shǒu dǎo nián de hǎi jūn bīng wáng dēng shǎng jūn jiàn
New Year's Day | As you wish! The Navy's "King of Soldiers" who has guarded the island for 30 years boarded a warship.
...香品牌选购指南:2025年高品质沉香品牌如何精准..
. . . xiāng pǐn pái xuǎn gòu zhǐ nán nián gāo pǐn zhì chén xiāng pǐn pái rú hé jīng zhǔn . .
... Incense Brand Buying Guide:2025 High quality incense brands how to accurately ...
如果你死了，你的家人会怎样呢？
Rúguǒ nǐ sǐ le, nǐ de jiārén huì zěnyàng ne?
If you should die, what would become of your family?
你的英文学得如何？
Nǐ de Yīngwén xué de rúhé?
How are you getting along with your English study?
比如说，我要到市中心，有什么车子可以坐吗？
Bǐrú shuō, wǒ yào dào shìzhōngxīn, yǒu shénme chēzi kěyǐ zuò ma?
For example, if I want to get downtown what bus should I take?
告诉我你是如果解决这些问题的？
Gàosu wǒ nǐ shì rúguǒ jiějué zhèxiē wèntí de?
Tell me how you got over such troubles?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 如 (rú) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 如 have?
What is the radical of 如?
What are the components of 如?
What are common words containing 如?
What characters sound the same as 如 (rú)?
Is 如 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 如 with real-time feedback
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