释 (shì): to explain, to release, Buddha (abbr. for 釋迦牟尼|释迦牟尼)
释 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “to explain.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 釆 (semantic). It ranks #813 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 释 collect. Its radical form 釆 (distinguish) appears in many related characters such as 采 (cǎi, to pick).
Definitions
- to explain
- to release
- Buddha (abbr. for 釋迦牟尼|释迦牟尼)
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticcollect
Stroke Order
Practice writing 释 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 释
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 假释 | jiǎ shì | parole |
| 保释 | bǎo shì | to release on bail |
| 诠释 | quán shì | to interpret |
| 释怀 | shì huái | to get over (a traumatic experience, misgivings etc) |
| 如释重负 | rú shì zhòng fù | as if relieved from a burden (idiom) |
| 获释 | huò shì | freed (from prison) |
| 注释 | zhù shì | to annotate |
| 稀释 | xī shì | to dilute |
| 开释 | kāi shì | to release (a prisoner) |
| 释然 | shì rán | relieved |
| 爱不释手 | ài bù shì shǒu | (idiom) to like sth so much that one is reluctant to put it down |
| 阐释 | chǎn shì | to explain |
| 释义 | shì yì | the meaning of sth |
| 手不释卷 | shǒu bù shì juàn | lit. always with a book in hand (idiom) |
| 释迦牟尼 | shì jiā móu ní | Shakyamuni (Sanskrit for "the Sage of the Shakyas", i.e. the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama) |
释 appears in 59 compound words: 46 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 25 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 释 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Example Sentences
释字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
shì zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
Although the character "释" is difficult to write, its meaning is quite interesting.
“30岁了还因假期结束而哭”?心理专家解释背后原因
3 0 suì le hái yīn jiǎ qī jié shù ér kū ? xīn lǐ zhuān jiā jiě shì bèi hòu yuán yīn
"At the age of 30, I still cry because the holidays are over"? Psychologists explain the reasons behind it
儿少性侵追诉 民团发起连署吁释宪修法并行
ér shǎo xìng qīn zhuī sù mín tuán fā qǐ lián shǔ xū shì xiàn xiū fǎ bìng háng
Child sexual assault prosecution Civil groups launched a joint petition calling for the interpretation of the constitution and the amendment of the law
Ann Demeulemeester 释出 2026 春夏形象企划
A n n D e m e u l e m e e s t e r shì chū 2 0 2 6 chūn xià xíng xiàng qǐ huá
Ann Demeulemeester releases the Spring/Summer 2026 image plan
委内瑞拉外长在联合国人权理事会要求美国释放马杜罗
wěi nèi ruì lā wài cháng zài lián gě guó rén quán lǐ shì huì yāo qiú měi guó shì fàng mǎ dù luó
Venezuela's foreign minister asked the United States to release Maduro at the UN Human Rights Council
...改造的吕彦青首秀“期待以下” 平野惠一解释原因
. . . gǎi zào de lǚ 彦 qīng shǒu xiù qī dài yǐ xià píng yě huì yī jiě shì yuán yīn
... The transformed Lu Yanqing's debut "looks forward to the following" Keiichi Hirano explained the reason
国王下令把囚犯释放。
Guówáng xiàlìng bǎ qiúfàn shìfàng.
The king ordered that the prisoner should be set free.
汤姆仔细地给玛丽解释。
Tāngmǔ zǐxì de gěi Mǎlì jiěshì.
Tom explained it to Mary very carefully.
你怎么解释你缺席的原因？
Nǐ zěnme jiěshì nǐ quēxí de yuányīn?
How do you account for your absence?
请你为我解释规则好吗?
Qǐng nǐ wèi wǒ jiěshì guīzé hǎo ma?
Would you please explain the rules to me?
Character Family
釆 Radical Family — Characters sharing the distinguish radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 释 (shì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 释 have?
What is the radical of 释?
What are the components of 释?
What are common words containing 释?
What characters sound the same as 释 (shì)?
Is 释 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 释 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.