物 (wù): (bound form) thing, (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself, people other than oneself
物 (wù) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) thing.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 牛 (semantic) and 勿 (phonetic). It ranks #142 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 物 ox. Its radical form 牛 (cow) appears in many related characters such as 牛 (niú, ox), 特 (tè, special), 牢 (láo, firm).
Definitions
- (bound form) thing
- (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself
- people other than oneself
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 物 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 物
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 礼物noun | lǐ wù | gift | 3 |
| 动物noun | dòng wù | animal | 3 |
| 食物noun | shí wù | food | 4 |
| 人物noun | rén wù | person | 5 |
| 生物noun | shēng wù | organism | 5 |
| 药物noun | yào wù | medicaments | 5 |
| 物品noun | wù pǐn | articles | 5 |
| 购物verb | gòu wù | shopping | 4 |
| 物质noun | wù zhì | matter | 5 |
| 事物noun | shì wù | thing | 5 |
| 博物馆noun | bó wù guǎn | museum | 5 |
| 宠物noun | chǒng wù | house pet | 5 |
| 植物noun | zhí wù | plant | 4 |
| 物理noun | wù lǐ | physics | 5 |
| 动物园noun | dòng wù yuán | zoo | 3 |
| 物体noun | wù tǐ | object | 6 |
| 货物noun | huò wù | goods | 5 |
| 万物noun | wàn wù | all things | 6 |
| 建筑物noun | jiàn zhù wù | building | 6 |
| 文物noun | wén wù | cultural relic | 6 |
| 财物noun | cái wù | property | 6 |
| 物业noun | wù yè | property | 5 |
| 物价noun | wù jià | (commodity) prices | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 怪物noun | guài wu | monster |
| 废物noun | fèi wù | rubbish |
| 证物noun | zhèng wù | exhibit (law) |
| 猎物noun | liè wù | prey |
| 物证noun | wù zhèng | material evidence |
| 物种noun | wù zhǒng | species |
| 尤物noun | yóu wù | rarity |
| 化合物 | huà hé wù | chemical compound |
| 毒物noun | dú wù | poisonous substance |
| 衣物noun | yī wù | clothing |
| 吉祥物noun | jí xiáng wù | mascot |
物 appears in 122 compound words: 22 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 7 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 物 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (63)
seeing things left behind by someone or the belongings of the deceased triggers one's memories of that person
Showing 12 of 63 idioms containing 物.
Example Sentences
物字在日常生活中使用频率很高。
wù zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ hěn gāo .
The character "物" is used very frequently in daily life.
...?马年刮刮乐送“小强标本”引热议 台北动物园:限量纪念品
. . . ? mǎ nián guā guā lè sòng xiǎo qiáng biāo běn yǐn rè yì tái běi dòng wù yuán : xiàn liàng jì niàn pǐn
...? The Year of the Horse scratch card sends "Xiaoqiang specimens" to arouse heated discussions Taipei Zoo: limited souvenirs
和股票与储蓄帐户不同 出售实物白银很难吗
hé gǔ piào yǔ chǔ xù zhàng hù bù tóng chū shòu shí wù bái yín hěn nán ma
And unlike stocks and savings accounts, is it hard to sell physical silver?
河川地生长香氛植物“石荠薴” 花莲光复乡民尝试复育
hé chuān dì shēng cháng xiāng fēn zhí wù shí 荠 薴 huā lián guāng fù xiāng mín cháng shì fù yù
The fragrant plant "Shi Shen Zhi" grows in the river land, and the villagers of Hualien Guangfu try to restore it
10万元财物失而复得,长沙火车站春运暖心守护旅客行....
1 0 wàn yuán cái wù shī ér fù dé , cháng shā huǒ chē zhàn chūn yùn nuǎn xīn shǒu hù lǚ kè háng . . . .
100,000 yuan of property was lost and recovered, and Changsha Railway Station warmly guarded the passenger journey during the Spring Festival....
寻马记|能看到86匹灵动骏马的北齐壁画博物馆
xún mǎ jì néng kàn dào 8 6 pǐ líng dòng jùn mǎ de běi qí bì huà bó wù guǎn
The Northern Qi Mural Museum where you can see 86 smart horses
礼物？给我的？多谢多谢！
Lǐwù? gěi wǒ de? duōxiè duōxiè!
A present? For me? Thank you!
你怎么在太空里找到食物？
Nǐ zěnme zài tàikōng lǐ zhǎodào shíwù?
How do you find food in outer space?
公园里有动物园吗？
Gōngyuán lǐ yǒu dòngwùyuán ma?
Is there a zoo in the park?
这城里有没有博物馆？
Zhè chéng lǐ yǒuméiyǒu bówùguǎn?
Is there a museum in this town?
Character Family
牛 Radical Family — Characters sharing the cow radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 物 (wù) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 物 and 里?
How many strokes does 物 have?
What is the radical of 物?
What are the components of 物?
What are common words containing 物?
What characters sound the same as 物 (wù)?
Is 物 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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