顺 (shùn): to obey, to follow, to arrange
顺 (shùn) is a Chinese character meaning “to obey.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 川 (phonetic) and 页 (semantic). It ranks #938 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 顺 head. Its radical form 页 (page) appears in many related characters such as 页 (xié, head), 须 (xū, must), 顾 (gù, to look after).
Definitions
- to obey
- to follow
- to arrange
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 顺 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 顺
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 顺利adjective | shùn lì | smoothly | 4 |
| 顺便adverb | shùn biàn | conveniently | 4 |
| 顺序noun | shùn xù | sequence | 4 |
| 一路顺风 | yī lù shùn fēng | to have a pleasant journey (idiom) | 5 |
| 一帆风顺 | yī fān fēng shùn | propitious wind throughout the journey (idiom) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 顺着 | shùn zhe | to follow |
| 顺路 | shùn lù | by the way |
| 顺道 | shùn dào | on the way |
| 顺从 | shùn cóng | obedient |
| 顺风 | shùn fēng | lit. tail wind |
| 顺带 | shùn dài | (do sth) in passing |
| 顺眼 | shùn yǎn | pleasing to the eye |
| 温顺 | wēn shùn | docile |
| 顺手 | shùn shǒu | as an incidental action while doing sth else |
| 顺畅 | shùn chàng | smooth and unhindered |
| 顺心 | shùn xīn | happy |
| 孝顺 | xiào shùn | filial |
| 柔顺 | róu shùn | gentle and agreeable |
| 顺势 | shùn shì | to take advantage |
| 顺子 | shùn zi | a straight (poker, mahjong) |
顺 appears in 100 compound words: 58 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 11 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 顺 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
to restrain one's grief and accept fate (used to console family of a deceased person); my condolences
to meekly submit to oppression, maltreatment, etc.; to resign oneself to adversity
to act according to whatever is the current outlook; pragmatic; unprincipled
to steal something under the cover of an emergency; to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain
to do something with the prevailing climate or tendency; to take advantage of the situation
to follow the clues to get to the bottom of a matter or to thoroughly inquire into a matter
to steal something under the cover of an emergency; to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain
to restrain one's grief and accept fate (used to console family of a deceased person); my condolences
to meekly submit to oppression, maltreatment, etc.; to resign oneself to adversity
to act according to whatever is the current outlook; pragmatic; unprincipled
to do something with the prevailing climate or tendency; to take advantage of the situation
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 顺.
Example Sentences
顺字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
shùn zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "顺" is written is quite unique and has left a deep impression on me.
中泰证券:银行股从“顺周期”到“弱周期” 重点推荐大型银行以及...
zhōng tài zhèng quàn : yín háng gǔ cóng shùn zhōu qī dào ruò zhōu qī chóng diǎn tuī jiàn dà xíng yín háng yǐ jí . . .
Zhongtai Securities: Bank stocks from "pro-cyclical" to "weak cycle" focus on recommending large banks and...
珍惜生命|秀茂坪顺利邨45岁妇堕楼 昏迷送院抢救不治
zhēn xī shēng mìng xiù mào píng shùn lì 邨 4 5 suì fù duò lóu hūn mí sòng yuàn qiǎng jiù bù zhì
Cherish Life|A 45-year-old woman fell from a building in Shunli Estate of Sau Mau Ping and was sent to the hospital in a coma for rescue
秀茂坪顺利邨妇人堕楼亡 原因待查
xiù mào píng shùn lì 邨 fù rén duò lóu wáng yuán yīn dài chá
The cause of the death of a woman in Shunli Village, Sau Mau Ping, who fell from a building is to be investigated
顺便说一句，你最近见过他吗？
Shùnbiàn shuō yījù, nǐ zuìjìn jiàn guo tā ma?
By the way, have you seen him lately?
顺便问一句，你今晚有空吗？
Shùnbiàn wèn yījù, nǐ jīnwǎn yǒu kòng ma?
By the way, are you free tonight?
顺便问一下，餐厅晚上几点钟开始营业？
Shùnbiàn wèn yīxià, cāntīng wǎnshang jǐ diǎnzhōng kāishǐ yíngyè?
By the way, may I ask when in the evening your restaurant opens?
顺便问一句，你们已经去过北海道了吗？
Shùnbiàn wèn yījù, nǐmen yǐjīng qù guo Běihǎidào le ma?
By the way, have you ever been to Hokkaido?
你能把这清单按字母顺序排列吗？
Nǐ néng bǎ zhè qīngdān àn zìmǔ shùnxù páiliè ma?
Could you rearrange this list so it's in alphabetical order?
顺着你的感觉走吧！
Shùnzhe nǐ de gǎnjué zǒu ba!
Just follow your heart.
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced shùn
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 顺 (shùn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 顺 and 训?
How many strokes does 顺 have?
What is the radical of 顺?
What are the components of 顺?
What are common words containing 顺?
What characters sound the same as 顺 (shùn)?
Is 顺 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 顺 with real-time feedback
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