瘦 (shòu): thin
瘦 (shòu) is a Chinese character meaning “thin.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 疒 (semantic) and 叟 (phonetic). It ranks #1824 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 瘦 sickness. Its radical form 疒 (illness) appears in many related characters such as 医 (yī, medicine), 病 (bìng, illness), 疼 (téng, ache).
Definitions
- thin
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 瘦 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 瘦小adjective | shòu xiǎo | slightly-built |
| 瘦子noun | shòu zi | thin person |
| 骨瘦如柴phrase | gǔ shòu rú chái | (idiom) as thin as a match |
| 瘦弱adjective | shòu ruò | thin and weak |
| 消瘦verb | xiāo shòu | to waste away |
| 瘦骨嶙峋phrase | shòu gǔ lín xún | skinny |
| 瘦长adjective | shòu cháng | slim |
| 清瘦adjective | qīng shòu | meager |
| 瘦肉noun | shòu ròu | lean meat |
| 精瘦adjective | jīng shòu | (coll.) lean (figure, meat etc) |
| 瘦削adjective | shòu xuē | slim |
| 瘦身verb | shòu shēn | to lose weight (intentionally) |
| 干瘦adjective | gān shòu | wizened |
| 挑肥拣瘦phrase | tiāo féi jiǎn shòu | (idiom) to cherry-pick |
| 瘦死的骆驼比马大proverb | shòu sǐ de luò tuo bǐ mǎ dà | lit. even a scrawny camel is bigger than a horse (idiom) |
瘦 appears in 29 compound words: 48 as the first character, 41 as the last, and 10 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 瘦 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to have a sallow complexion and emaciated body; to look sick or malnourished
to pick the best for oneself; to choose whatever is to one's advantage
Example Sentences
他最近瘦了很多，可能是因为工作压力大。
Tā zuìjìn shòu le hěn duō, kěnéng shì yīnwèi gōngzuò yālì dà.
He has lost a lot of weight recently, probably due to work pressure.
吃很少却瘦不下来?营养师揭真相:恐害体重暴走
chī hěn shǎo què shòu bù xià lái ? yíng yǎng shī jiē zhēn xiāng : kǒng hài tǐ chóng bào zǒu
Eat very little but can't lose weight? Nutritionist reveals the truth: fear of weight loss
打瘦瘦针酿眼出血? 医揭62岁男左眼“全黑”...
dǎ shòu shòu zhēn niàng yǎn chū xiě ? yī jiē 6 2 suì nán zuǒ yǎn quán hēi . . .
Eye bleeding caused by slimming injections? The doctor revealed that the 62-year-old man's left eye was "completely black"...
...价”策略失灵叠加“黑天鹅”事件,雀巢忙“瘦身”自救
. . . jià cè lüè shī líng dié jiā hēi tiān é shì jiàn , qiāo cháo máng shòu shēn zì jiù
... The failure of the "price" strategy superimposed on the "black swan" incident, and Nestlé was busy "slimming" to save itself
记者观察:食品贴上警示标签 智利欲全民瘦身?
jì zhě guàn chá shí pǐn tiē shǎng jǐng shì biāo qiān zhì lì yù quán mín shòu shēn ?
Reporter's observation: food labeled with a warning that Chile wants to slim down the whole population?
...|记者观察:食品贴上警示标签 智利欲全民瘦身..
. . . jì zhě guàn chá shí pǐn tiē shǎng jǐng shì biāo qiān zhì lì yù quán mín shòu shēn . .
... |Journalist's Observation:Food labeled with warnings Chile wants to slim down all...
你真的认为汤姆算瘦？
Nǐ zhēn de rènwéi Tāngmǔ suàn shòu?
Do you really think Tom is skinny?
欣怡最近瘦好多喔，是去健身房还是失恋啊？
Xīn yí zuì jìn shòu hǎoduō ō, shì qù jiànshēnfáng háishi shīliàn ā?
Hsin-yi got so much slimmer lately. Is it gym or heartbreak?
她瘦得只剩皮包骨了。
Tā shòu de zhǐ shèng píbāo gǔ le.
She is all skin and bone.
说苗条比说瘦更有礼貌。
Shuō miáotiao bǐ shuō shòu gèng yǒulǐmào.
It's more polite to say thin than skinny.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 疒 (sickness) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 瘦 (shòu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 瘦 and 厚?
How many strokes does 瘦 have?
What is the radical of 瘦?
What are the components of 瘦?
What are common words containing 瘦?
What characters sound the same as 瘦 (shòu)?
Is 瘦 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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