叔 (shū): uncle, father's younger brother, husband's younger brother
叔 (shū) is a Chinese character meaning “uncle.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 又 (again). It ranks #1413 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 叔 the smaller 小 brother. Its radical form 又 (again) appears in many related characters such as 友 (yǒu, friend), 又 (yòu, (once) again), 发 (fā, to send out).
Definitions
- uncle
- father's younger brother
- husband's younger brother
Etymology & Origin
ideographicThe smaller 小 brother
Decomposition: ⿰⿱上小又 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 叔 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 叔
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大叔 | dà shū | eldest of father's younger brothers |
| 叔父 | shū fù | father's younger brother |
| 表叔 | biǎo shū | son of grandfather's sister |
| 叔公 | shū gōng | great uncle |
| 叔母 | shū mǔ | aunt |
| 叔伯 | shū bai | (of cousins) descending from the same grandfather or great-grandfather |
| 叔祖母 | shū zǔ mǔ | wife of paternal grandfather's younger brother |
| 叔本华 | shū běn huá | Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German post-Kantian philosopher |
| 王叔文 | wáng shū wén | Wang Shuwen (735-806), famous Tang dynasty scholar, Go player and politician, a leader of failed Yongzhen Reform 永貞革新... |
| 叔子 | shū zi | brother-in-law |
| 山姆大叔 | shān mǔ dà shū | Uncle Sam |
| 家叔 | jiā shū | (polite) my uncle (father's younger brother) |
| 李叔同 | lǐ shū tóng | Liu Shutong (1880-1942), painter, Buddhist monk and distinguished figure in New Culture Movement 新文化運動|新文化运动[Xin1 Wen... |
| 小叔 | xiǎo shū | husband's younger brother |
| 叔丈人 | shū zhàng rén | wife's uncle |
叔 appears in 29 compound words: 45 as the first character, 24 as the last, and 31 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 叔 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
叔叔在国外工作，每年春节才会回来探亲。
Shūshu zài guówài gōngzuò, měi nián Chūnjié cái huì huílai tànqīn.
My uncle works abroad and only comes back to visit during Spring Festival each year.
有片│港铁导盲犬遭阿叔狂骂!惊慌反应极心酸 后续举动获赞:好叻
yǒu piàn gǎng tiě dǎo máng quǎn zāo ā shū kuáng mà ! jīng huāng fǎn yīng jí xīn suān hòu xù jǔ dòng huò zàn : hǎo 叻
Video: MTR Guide Dog Viciously Yelled At by an Older Man! Its Panicked Reaction Is Heartbreaking, but Its Subsequent Action Earns Praise: "So Brave"
独家》柯叔元回归中视喊“福地” 昔入围视帝再添信心
dú jiā 柯 shū yuán huí guī zhōng shì hǎn fú dì xī rù wéi shì dì zài tiān xìn xīn
Exclusive: Ke Shuyuan Returns to CTV, Calling It a "Lucky Place"; Past Best Actor Nomination Boosts His Confidence
退休僅存20萬 大叔靠這2招10年後抱千萬
tuì xiū 僅 cún 萬 dà shū kào 這 zhāo nián 後 bào qiān 萬
Retired with only $200,000 in savings, this is how an old man can get his hands on $10 million in 10 years.
爱读书的工地大叔走红后第一个春节:继续种地、看书,..
ài dòu shū de gōng dì dà shū zǒu hóng hòu dì yī gè chūn jié jì xù zhǒng dì kàn shū , . .
The Book-Loving Construction Worker's First Spring Festival After Going Viral: Continuing to Farm and Read...
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 aroma of tea fills the air, warmth and affection abound~ Watch as the grandmothers and uncles unlock the art of "flowing like clouds and water"...
我叔叔让我担任翻译。
Wǒ shūshu ràng wǒ dānrèn fānyì.
My uncle had me act as a translator.
我的伯叔住在纽约。
Wǒ de bóshū zhù zài Niǔyuē.
My uncle lives in New York.
汤姆是玛丽的叔叔。
Tāngmǔ shì Mǎlì de shūshu.
Tom is Mary's uncle.
我的叔叔去过芬兰。
Wǒ de shūshu qù guo Fēnlán.
My uncle has been to Finland.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 叔 (shū)?
Is 叔 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 叔 with real-time feedback
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