舞 (wǔ): to dance, to wield, to brandish
舞 (wǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to dance.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 無 (structural) and 舛 (structural). It ranks #1142 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 舞 a hand 舛 holding a fan. Its radical form 舛 (oppose) appears in many related characters.
Definitions
- to dance
- to wield
- to brandish
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand 舛 holding a fan
Decomposition: ⿱無舛 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 舞 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 舞
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 跳舞verb | tiào wǔ | to dance | 2 |
| 舞蹈noun | wǔ dǎo | dance (performance art) | 5 |
| 舞台noun | wǔ tái | (lit. and fig.) stage | 5 |
| 鼓舞verb/adjective | gǔ wǔ | to inspire | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 舞会 | wǔ huì | dance |
| 独舞 | dú wǔ | solo dance |
| 舞步 | wǔ bù | dance steps |
| 脱衣舞 | tuō yī wǔ | striptease |
| 舞伴 | wǔ bàn | dancing partner |
| 现代舞 | xiàn dài wǔ | modern dance |
| 芭蕾舞 | bā lěi wǔ | ballet (loanword) |
| 舞动 | wǔ dòng | to move as in a dance |
| 爵士舞 | jué shì wǔ | jazz (loanword) |
| 挥舞 | huī wǔ | to brandish |
| 歌舞 | gē wǔ | singing and dancing |
| 踢踏舞 | tī tà wǔ | tap dance |
| 舞厅 | wǔ tīng | dance hall |
| 舞池 | wǔ chí | dance floor |
| 摇摆舞 | yáo bǎi wǔ | swing (dance) |
舞 appears in 100 compound words: 31 as the first character, 56 as the last, and 13 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 舞 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
to show off one's literary skills; to be playful with language and words (in writing); to juggle with words
to show off one's literary skills; to be playful with language and words (in writing); to juggle with words
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 舞.
Example Sentences
舞字由14笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
wǔ zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character for "dance" consists of 14 strokes and has a very ingenious structure.
造船公司老板观神韵 赞舞蹈演员技艺顶尖
zào chuán gōng sī lǎo bǎn guàn shén yùn zàn wǔ dǎo yǎn yuán jì yì dǐng jiān
The owner of the shipbuilding company watched Shen Yun and praised the dancers' top skills
...巨蛋 “2026台日棒球国际交流赛”赛后舞台秒变个人演唱会
. . . jù dàn 2 0 2 6 tái rì bàng qiú guó jì jiāo liú sài sài hòu wǔ tái miǎo biàn gè rén yǎn chàng huì
... The stage of the "2026 Taiwan-Japan Baseball International Exchange Tournament" at the Dome turned into a personal concert in seconds
特企/三时四季映照青春舞台 第12届青艺节打造戏曲新风景
tè qǐ sān shí sì jì yìng zhào qīng chūn wǔ tái dì 1 2 jiè qīng yì jié dǎ zào xì qū xīn fēng jǐng
Special enterprises/three seasons and four seasons reflect the stage of youth The 12th Youth Arts Festival creates a new scenery of opera
神韵展现对神的信仰 令牙医“深受鼓舞”
shén yùn zhǎn xiàn duì shén de xìn yǎng lìng yá yī shēn shòu gǔ wǔ
Shen Yun shows faith in God and makes dentists "deeply encouraged"
从“舞台秀”到“真干活”,北京卫视春晚机器人从...
cóng wǔ tái xiù dào zhēn gān huó , běi jīng wèi shì chūn wǎn jī qì rén cóng . . .
From "stage show" to "real work", Beijing Satellite TV's Spring Festival Gala robot from...
汤姆怎么能让玛丽跟他去跳舞呢？
Tāngmǔ zěnme néng ràng Mǎlì gēn tā qù tiàowǔ ne?
How did Tom get Mary to go to the dance with him?
可惜你不知道如何跳舞！
Kěxī nǐ bù zhīdào rúhé tiàowǔ!
What a pity you can't dance!
我去参加舞会，母亲就帮忙照顾婴儿。
Wǒqù cānjiā wǔhuì, mǔqīn jiù bāngmáng zhàogu yīng'ér.
My mother will attend to the baby while I go to the dance.
莎士比亚把世界比喻成一个舞台。
Shāshìbǐyà bǎ shìjiè bǐyù chéng yī gè wǔtái.
Shakespeare compared the world to a stage.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 舞 (wǔ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 舞 have?
What is the radical of 舞?
What are the components of 舞?
What are common words containing 舞?
What characters sound the same as 舞 (wǔ)?
Is 舞 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 舞 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.