矢 (shǐ): arrow, dart, straight
矢 (shǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “arrow.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丿 (structural) and 天 (structural). It ranks #2638 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 矢 an arrow pointing upwards. Its radical form 矢 (arrow) appears in many related characters such as 短 (duǎn, short), 矮 (ǎi, (of a person) short), 矣 (yǐ, classical final particle, similar to modern 了).
Definitions
- arrow
- dart
- straight
Etymology & Origin
pictographicAn arrow pointing upwards
Decomposition: ⿻丿天 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 矢 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 众矢之的 | zhòng shǐ zhī dì | lit. target of a multitude of arrows (idiom) |
| 矢口否认 | shǐ kǒu fǒu rèn | to deny flatly |
| 矢量 | shǐ liàng | (math.) vector |
| 有的放矢 | yǒu dì fàng shǐ | lit. to have a target in mind when shooting one's arrows (idiom) |
| 矢志 | shǐ zhì | to take an oath to do sth |
| 一矢中的 | yī shǐ zhòng dì | to hit the target with a single shot |
| 无的放矢 | wú dì fàng shǐ | to shoot without aim (idiom) |
| 幺并矢 | yāo bìng shǐ | idemfactor (math.) |
| 永矢 | yǒng shǐ | forever |
| 箭矢 | jiàn shǐ | arrow |
矢 appears in 10 compound words: 30 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 20 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 矢 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
to have no definite object in view; to have no definite objective in speech or action
to have a definite object in view; to have a definite objective in speech or action
to have no definite object in view; to have no definite objective in speech or action
to have a definite object in view; to have a definite objective in speech or action
Example Sentences
矢字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
shǐ zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "矢" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
川普斩首哈米尼下马威!矢板明夫曝“三重打击”:习近平发抖
chuān pǔ zhǎn shǒu hā mǐ ní xià mǎ wēi ! shǐ bǎn míng fū pù sān chóng dǎ jī : xí jìn píng fā dǒu
Trump beheaded Hamini and dismounted! Akio Yaita exposed the "triple strike": Xi Jinping trembled
...一会”第5次聚焦科技创新 创新发展,武汉矢志不渝
. . . yī huì dì 5 cì jù jiāo kē jì chuàng xīn chuàng xīn fā zhǎn , wǔ hàn shǐ zhì bù yú
... The fifth time to focus on scientific and technological innovation and innovation and development, Wuhan is unswerving
LUNA SEA官方公布鼓手真矢不敌病情离世 享年56岁
L U N A S E A guān fāng gōng bù gǔ shǒu zhēn shǐ bù dí bìng qíng lí shì xiǎng nián 5 6 suì
LUNA SEA officially announced that drummer Maya passed away at the age of 56
中国网军4千帐户攻击高市早苗 矢板明夫:台日两国正面对相同挑战
zhōng guó wǎng jūn 4 qiān zhàng hù gōng jī gāo shì zǎo miáo shǐ bǎn míng fū : tái rì liǎng guó zhèng miàn duì xiāng tóng tiāo zhàn
4,000 accounts of China's cyber army attacked Sanae Takaichi Akio Yaita: Taiwan and Japan are facing the same challenges
不思就说等于无的放矢。
Bù sī jiù shuō děngyú wúdìfàngshǐ.
Speaking without thinking is like shooting without looking.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 矢 (shǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 矢 have?
What is the radical of 矢?
What are the components of 矢?
What are common words containing 矢?
What characters sound the same as 矢 (shǐ)?
Is 矢 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 矢 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.