写 (xiě): to write, used in 寫意|写意

写 (xiě) is a Chinese character meaning “to write.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冖 (structural) and 与 (structural). It ranks #448 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to write
  2. used in 寫意|写意

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5

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

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 写

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
写作verbxiě zuòto write5
描写verbmiáo xiěto describe6
填写verbtián xiěto fill in a form4
书写verbshū xiěto write6
编写verbbiān xiěto compile6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
写信verbxiě xìnto write a letter
缩写nounsuō xiěabbreviation
拼写verbpīn xiěto spell
写字verbxiě zìto write (by hand)
特写nountè xiěfeature article
改写verbgǎi xiěto revise
写道verbxiě dàoto write (used before or after a quoted passage)
大写noundà xiěcapital letters
撰写verbzhuàn xiěto write
写照verbxiě zhàoportrayal
写真nounxiě zhēnportrait
抄写verbchāo xiěto copy
轻描淡写phraseqīng miáo dàn xiě(idiom) to treat sth as no big deal
写下verbxiě xiàto write down
大写字母noundà xiě zì mǔcapital letters
86
Total compounds
23
As first character
56
As last character
21
As middle character

写 appears in 86 compound words: 23 as the first character, 56 as the last, and 21 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 写 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

缩suō
0.68120,940 co-occurrences
撰zhuàn
0.55417,509 co-occurrences
拼pīn
0.5456,456 co-occurrences
虽suī
0.507118 co-occurrences
趣qù
0.503117 co-occurrences
描miáo
0.5039,640 co-occurrences
握wò
0.499106 co-occurrences
编biān
0.49514,940 co-occurrences
掌zhǎng
0.479108 co-occurrences
书shū
0.47616,094 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (3)

能写会算néngxiěhuìsuànHSK 3+

to be literate and numerate

phrase
轻描淡写qīngmiáodànxiěHSK 5+

to touch on lightly; to mention casually; to play down

phrase
听说读写tīngshuōdúxiěHSK 1+

listening, speaking, reading and writing; various aspects of learning a foreign language

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个写字的意思与它的部首有关。

zhè gě xiě zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .

The meaning of this character is related to its radical.

Hk01.comFeb 2026

...界工厂变创新大国:中国加入世贸25年,改写全球发展剧本

. . . jiè gōng hǎn biàn chuàng xīn dà guó : zhōng guó jiā rù shì mào 2 5 nián , gǎi xiě quán qiú fā zhǎn jù běn

... Industry has become an innovative power: China has rewritten the global development script in the 25 years since joining the WTO

99 健康网Feb 2026

...紫状回声要警惕了?是否为“杂乱回声”的误写需重视吗

. . . zǐ zhuàng huí shēng yāo jǐng tì le ? shì fǒu wéi zá luàn huí shēng de wù xiě xū chóng shì ma

... Purple echoes should be vigilant? Is it a misspelling of "chaotic echo" that needs to be paid attention to?

It之家Feb 2026

阿里千问:开工第一天,让“千问帮我”写请假条的人数激增 530%

ā lǐ qiān wèn : kāi gōng dì yī tiān , ràng qiān wèn bāng wǒ xiě qǐng jiǎ tiáo de rén shǔ jī zēng 5 3 0

Ali Qianwen: On the first day of construction, the number of people who asked "Qianwen Help Me" to write leave slips surged by 530%

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

...副文讯】联副/舒国治、朱国珍对谈:饮食书写,情感记忆

. . . fù wén xùn lián fù shū guó zhì , zhū guó zhēn duì tán : yǐn shí shū xiě , qíng gǎn jì yì

... Joint Vice / Shu Guozhi and Zhu Guozhen Dialogue: Diet Writing, Emotional Memory

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

反送中理工男 写下漫长狱中“课”

fǎn sòng zhōng lǐ gōng nán xiě xià màn cháng yù zhōng kè

Anti-extradition to China Polytechnic man wrote a long prison "lesson"

Tatoeba

为什么没写作业?快说!

Wèishéme méi xiězuò yè? kuài shuō!

Why didn't you do your homework? Speak up!

Tatoeba

这封信是玛丽写的吗?

Zhè fēng xìn shì Mǎlì xiě de ma?

Was this letter written by Mary?

Tatoeba

这封信一定要用英文写吗?

Zhè fēng xìn yīdìngyào yòng Yīngwén xiě ma?

Must this letter be written in English?

Tatoeba

我需要写一封信。你有纸吗?

Wǒ xūyào xiě yī fēng xìn. nǐ yǒu zhǐ ma?

I have to write a letter. Do you have some paper?

Character Family

冖 Radical Family — Characters sharing the cover radical

Homophones — Characters pronounced xiě

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 写 (xiě) mean in Chinese?
写 (xiě) primarily means "to write." It is classified as HSK Level 1, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #448 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 写 have?
写 is written with 5 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 写?
The radical associated with 写 is 冖 (cover). This radical appears in many characters related to cover.
What are the components of 写?
写 is composed of: 冖 (structural), 与 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱冖与 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 写?
Common words with 写 include: 写信 (xiě xìn, "to write a letter"); 写作 (xiě zuò, "to write"); 缩写 (suō xiě, "abbreviation"); 拼写 (pīn xiě, "to spell"); 写字 (xiě zì, "to write (by hand)"). There are over 86 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 写 (xiě)?
Several characters share the pronunciation xiě: 些 (classifier indicating a small amount or small number greater than 1: some, a few, several), 血 (blood), 谢 (to thank), 协 (to cooperate), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 写 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 写 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 写 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.