素 (sù): raw silk, white, plain, unadorned

素 (sù) is a Chinese character meaning “raw silk.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 龶 (structural) and 糸 (structural). It ranks #661 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 素 a silken thread 糸 hanging off a tree 龶. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. raw silk
  2. white
  3. plain, unadorned

Etymology & Origin

素

ideographicA silken thread 糸 hanging off a tree 龶

Decomposition: ⿱龶糸 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Practice writing 素 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 素

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
因素nounyīn sùelement5
元素nounyuán sùelement (key component of sth)6
维生素nounwéi shēng sùvitamin6
素质nounsù zhìinner quality6
要素nounyào sùessential factor6
朴素adjectivepǔ sùplain and simple6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
毒素noundú sùtoxin
激素nounjī sùhormone
抗生素nounkàng shēng sùantibiotic
素食nounsù shívegetarian food
素材nounsù cáisource material (in literature and art)
同位素tóng wèi sùisotope
素描nounsù miáosketch
胰岛素nounyí dǎo sùinsulin
罗素proper-nounluó sùRussell (name)
吃素verbchī sùto be a vegetarian
素食者sù shí zhěvegetarian
青霉素nounqīng méi sù(pharmacology) penicillin
我行我素phrasewǒ xíng wǒ sùto continue in one's own way (idiom)
色素nounsè sùpigment
雌激素nouncí jī sùestrogen
103
Total compounds
24
As first character
73
As last character
3
As middle character

素 appears in 103 compound words: 24 as the first character, 73 as the last, and 3 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 素 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

元yuán
0.60697,170 co-occurrences
褪tuì
0.58215 co-occurrences
霉méi
0.5732,760 co-occurrences
因yīn
0.51870,498 co-occurrences
腺xiàn
0.5163,882 co-occurrences
卤lǔ
0.4961,240 co-occurrences
酵jiào
0.4831,832 co-occurrences
像xiàng
0.47318,904 co-occurrences
激jī
0.46911,671 co-occurrences
肾shèn
0.4651,034 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (18)

安之若素ānzhīruòsùHSK 7+

to bear hardship with equanimity; to regard wrongdoing with equanimity

phrase
胡萝卜素húluóbosùHSK 7+

carotene

noun
甲状腺素jiǎzhuàngxiànsùHSK 7+

thyroxine

noun
结核菌素jié hé jūn sùHSK 6+

tubercule bacillus

phrase
七荤八素qī hūn bā sùHSK 7+

confused; distracted

phrase
秋水仙素qiūshuǐxiānsùHSK 7+

colchicine

noun
肾上腺素shènshàngxiànsùHSK 7+

adrenaline; epinephrine

noun
生长激素shēngzhǎng jīsùHSK 5+

growth hormone

noun
尸位素餐shīwèisùcānHSK 7+

hold one's position and live without doing anything

phrase
素不相识sù bù xiāng shíHSK 5+

to be total strangers (idiom)

phrase
素昧平生sùmèipíngshēngHSK 7+

to be strangers to each other; to have never met before

phrase
素未谋面sùwèimóumiànHSK 7+

to have never met before

phrase

Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 素.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

写好素字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。

xiě hǎo sù zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .

To write the character "素" well, one must master the correct stroke order.

TvbsFeb 2026

张琼姿餐厅卷入高金素梅涉贪案 昔“车内密会潘若迪”险被离婚

zhāng 琼 zī cān tīng juǎn rù gāo jīn sù méi shè tān àn xī chē nèi mì huì pān ruò dí xiǎn bèi lí hūn

Zhang Qiongzi's restaurant was involved in Gao Jin Sumei's corruption case, and the former "secret meeting Pan Ruodi in the car" was almost divorced

大紀元 | 大紀元新聞網Feb 2026

罗素克洛主演的《纽伦堡》3月Netflix上...

luó sù kè 洛 zhǔ yǎn de niǔ lún bǎo 3 yuè N e t f l i x shàng . . .

"Nuremberg" starring Russell Crowe will be on Netflix in March...

English News - RthkFeb 2026

会财局:去年违规不算太多 强调监管质素要有底线

huì cái jú : qù nián wéi guī bù suàn tài duō qiáng diào jiān guǎn zhì sù yāo yǒu de xiàn

Bureau of Finance and Finance: There were not too many violations last year, emphasizing that there should be a bottom line for regulatory quality

RfiFeb 2026

...铁路引入中国标淮 可望减成本 惟评论忧质素及外国参与降

. . . tiě lù yǐn rù zhōng guó biāo huái kě wàng jiǎn chéng běn 惟 píng lùn yōu zhì sù jí wài guó cān yǔ jiàng

... The introduction of the railway into China's standard Huai is expected to reduce costs, but commentators are worried about the quality and foreign participation

中国军网Feb 2026

主播说国防丨将朴素的情感,化为坚实的行动

zhǔ bō shuō guó fáng 丨 jiāng pǔ sù de qíng gǎn , huà wéi jiān shí de háng dòng

The anchor said that national defense丨 will turn simple emotions into solid actions

Tatoeba

这家餐厅提供纯素食菜吗?

Zhè jiā cāntīng tígōng chúnsùshí cài ma?

Does this restaurant serve vegan dishes?

Tatoeba

你最后一次注射胰岛素之后有正常饮食吗?

Nǐ zuì hòu yīcì zhùshè yídǎosù zhīhòu yǒu zhèngcháng yǐnshí ma?

Have you been keeping up a normal diet since the last shot of insulin?

Tatoeba

您真的点了地瓜片来搭配素食汉堡吗?

Nín zhēn de diǎn le dìguā piàn lái dāpèi sùshí hànbǎo ma?

Did you really order sweet potato fries to go with your veggie burger?

Tatoeba

她住在罗素广场56号。

Tā zhù zài Luósù guǎngchǎng wǔ shí liù hào.

She lived at 56 Russell Square.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced sù

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 素 (sù) mean in Chinese?
素 (sù) primarily means "raw silk." It is classified as HSK Level 5, making it an advanced character. It ranks #661 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 素 and 黑?
素 (sù) and 黑 (hēi) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 素 (white) vs 黑 (black).
How many strokes does 素 have?
素 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 素?
The radical associated with 素 is 纟 (silk). This radical appears in many characters related to silk.
What are the components of 素?
素 is composed of: 龶 (structural), 糸 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱龶糸 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 素?
Common words with 素 include: 因素 (yīn sù, "element"); 元素 (yuán sù, "element (key component of sth)"); 毒素 (dú sù, "toxin"); 激素 (jī sù, "hormone"); 抗生素 (kàng shēng sù, "antibiotic"). There are over 103 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 素 (sù)?
Several characters share the pronunciation sù: 诉 (to complain), 速 (fast, speed), 苏 (revive), 俗 (custom), and 5 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 素 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 素 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 素 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.