瑟 (sè): a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings

瑟 (sè) is a Chinese character meaning “a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 王 (jade). It ranks #1192 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 王 jade13 strokesFrequency #1192

Definitions

a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings

Stroke Order

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
亚瑟	yà sè	(name) Arthur
凯瑟琳	kǎi sè lín	Catherine (name)
约瑟夫	yuē sè fū	Joseph (name)
约瑟	yuē sè	Joseph (name)
卢瑟	lú sè	(loanword) loser
阿瑟	ā sè	(name) Arthur
亚瑟王	yà sè wáng	King Arthur
卢瑟福	lú sè fú	Rutherford (name)
麦克阿瑟	mài kè ā sè	General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), US commander in Pacific during WW2, sacked in 1951 by President Truman for exc...
瑟瑟	sè sè	trembling
梅瑟	méi sè	Moses (Catholic translation)
瑟缩	sè suō	to curl up shivering (from cold)
约瑟夫·斯大林	yuē sè fū · sī dà lín	Joseph Stalin (1879-1953), Soviet dictator
圣约瑟夫	shèng yuē sè fū	Saint Joseph
萧瑟	xiāo sè	to rustle in the air

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

瑟 appears in 36 compound words: 11 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 39 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

麦克阿瑟Màikè'āsèHSK 6+

a transliteration of the English surname MacArthur or McArthur

琴瑟不调qín sè bù tiáoHSK 4+

out of tune; marital discord, cf qin and se 琴瑟, two string instruments as symbol of marital harmony

phrase

琴瑟和鸣qínsèhémíngHSK 7+

in perfect harmony

phrase

瑟瑟发抖sèsèfādǒuHSK 7+

to shiver with cold; to shiver; to tremble

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

学习瑟字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。

xué xí sè zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .

Writing the character "瑟" requires repeated practice to ensure it is written neatly.

WorldjournalApr 2026

NBA/卡瑟尔第5度大三元马刺斑马伤退照赢76人

N B A kǎ sè ěr dì 5 dù dà sān yuán mǎ cì bān mǎ shāng tuì zhào yíng 7 6 rén

中時新聞網Apr 2026

沈伯洋瑟瑟发抖?蒋万安施政满意度冲新高获国际奖...

Shěn bó yáng sè sè fā dǒu ? Jiǎng wàn ān shī zhèng mǎn yì dù chōng xīn gāo huò guó jì jiǎng . . .

LtnApr 2026

安海瑟薇坦言容貌焦虑!外界疯传整形发型师泄拉...

ān hǎi sè 薇 tǎn yán róng mào jiāo lǜ ! wài jiè fēng chuán zhěng xíng fā xíng shī xiè lā . . .

中時新聞網Mar 2026

刘亦菲同框安海瑟薇互搂腰瞬间被封“世纪神图”全网赞爆

liú yì Fēi tóng kuàng ān hǎi sè 薇 hù lōu yāo shùn jiān bèi fēng shì jì shén tú quán wǎng zàn bào

马来西亚诗华日报新闻网Feb 2026

1.2亿治水+新道路动工!武吉阿瑟全面升级

1 . 2 yì zhì shuǐ xīn dào lù dòng gōng ! wǔ jí ā sè quán miàn shēng jí

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 瑟 (sè) mean in Chinese?

瑟 (sè) primarily means "a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #1192 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 瑟 have?

瑟 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 瑟?

The radical associated with 瑟 is 王 (jade). This radical appears in many characters related to jade.

What are common words containing 瑟?

Common words with 瑟 include: 亚瑟 (yà sè, "(name) Arthur"); 凯瑟琳 (kǎi sè lín, "Catherine (name)"); 约瑟夫 (yuē sè fū, "Joseph (name)"); 约瑟 (yuē sè, "Joseph (name)"); 卢瑟 (lú sè, "(loanword) loser"). There are over 36 compound words containing this character.

Is 瑟 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 瑟 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 瑟 with real-time feedback

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