随 (suí): to follow, to comply with, varying according to...
随 (suí) is a Chinese character meaning “to follow.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 阝 (structural) and 迶 (structural). It ranks #498 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 随 to walk 迶 to the city 阝; to follow a path. Its radical form 阝 (mound) appears in many related characters such as 那 (nà, (specifier) that), 都 (dōu, all), 院 (yuàn, courtyard).
Definitions
- to follow
- to comply with
- varying according to...
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo walk 迶 to the city 阝; to follow a path
Decomposition: ⿰阝迶 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 随 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 随
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 随便verb/adjective/conjunction | suí biàn | as one wishes | 4 |
| 随时adverb | suí shí | at any time | 5 |
| 随着preposition | suí zhe | along with | 4 |
| 随意adjective | suí yì | as one wishes | 5 |
| 随后adverb | suí hòu | afterward | 5 |
| 跟随verb | gēn suí | to follow | 6 |
| 伴随verb | bàn suí | to accompany | 6 |
| 随手adverb | suí shǒu | conveniently | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 随机verb | suí jī | according to the situation |
| 随身adjective | suí shēn | to (carry) on one's person |
| 随心所欲phrase | suí xīn suǒ yù | (idiom) to follow one's heart's desires |
| 追随verb | zhuī suí | to follow |
| 追随者noun | zhuī suí zhě | follower |
| 随时随地phrase | suí shí suí dì | anytime and anywhere |
| 尾随verb | wěi suí | to tail behind |
| 随从verb | suí cóng | to accompany |
| 随之 | suí zhī | thereupon |
| 随口adverb | suí kǒu | (speak) without thinking the matter through |
| 随和adjective | suí hé | amiable |
| 随机应变phrase | suí jī yìng biàn | to change according to the situation (idiom) |
| 随即adverb | suí jí | immediately |
| 随行verb | suí xíng | to accompany |
| 随地adverb | suí dì | according to the location |
随 appears in 98 compound words: 72 as the first character, 10 as the last, and 17 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 随 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
the husband advocates/sings and the wife follows; harmony between husband and wife
to go with the flow; to swim with the tide; to act or behave the same way as the majority of others
to trim one's sails with the wind; to adopt different attitude depending on the circumstances (idiom)
lit. a willow that bends with the wind; one with no fixed principles (idiom)
the husband advocates/sings and the wife follows; harmony between husband and wife
to go with the flow; to swim with the tide; to act or behave the same way as the majority of others
to trim one's sails with the wind; to adopt different attitude depending on the circumstances (idiom)
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 随.
Example Sentences
随字在日常生活中使用频率中等。
suí zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .
The character "随" is used moderately frequently in daily life.
将随川普访中 鲁比欧:美中关系达战略稳定
jiāng suí chuān pǔ fǎng zhōng lǔ bǐ ōu : měi zhōng guān xì dá zhàn lüè wěn dìng
Rubio: US-China relations have reached strategic stability
美股随AI信心逆转反弹 超微夺Meta大单飙涨...
měi gǔ suí A I xìn xīn nì zhuǎn fǎn dàn chāo wēi duó M e t a dà dān biāo zhǎng . . .
U.S. stocks rebounded with AI confidence, and Supermicro won Meta's large order and soared...
议政随想—谭镇国:《铁路立标提效 助力北都发展...
yì zhèng suí xiǎng — 谭 zhèn guó : tiě lù lì biāo tí xiào zhù lì běi dōu fā zhǎn . . .
Political Discussion - Tan Zhenguo: "Railway Benchmarking and Efficiency to Help the Development of the Northern Capital...
情人来访泄露行踪 墨西哥大毒枭随后丧命
qíng rén lái fǎng xiè lù háng zōng mò xī gē dà dú 枭 suí hòu sāng mìng
Lover's visit leaks Mexican drug lord subsequently killed
.../波尔辛吉斯只为勇士打一场就受伤!确定不随队出征客场之旅
. . . bō ěr xīn jí sī zhī wéi yǒng shì dǎ yī chǎng jiù shòu shāng ! què dìng bù suí duì chū zhēng kè chǎng zhī lǚ
.../Porzingis was injured after only one fight for the Warriors! It is confirmed that he will not go on an away trip with the team
你为什么不随遇而安呢？
Nǐ wèi shénme bù suíyù'ér'ān ne?
Why can't you take things just as they are?
为什么随机句子中的人总是叫汤姆？
Wèishénme suíjī jùzi zhōng de rén zǒngshì jiào Tāngmǔ?
Why are people always called Tom in random sentences?
随便！两个我都喜欢。
Suíbiàn! liǎng gè wǒ dōu xǐhuan.
Either one! They're both fine.
“可以用一下这部电话吗？”“请随意。”
"kěyǐ yòng yīxià zhè bù diànhuà ma?""qǐng suíyì."
"May I use this telephone?" "Go ahead."
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 随 (suí) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 随 have?
What is the radical of 随?
What are the components of 随?
What are common words containing 随?
What characters sound the same as 随 (suí)?
Is 随 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 随 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.