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水 — water; ... River; to swim

water; ... River; to swim; lacking in substance; shoddy

Pinyin
shuǐ · Shuǐ
Strokes
4
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
recognition only

This character has more than one reading — shuǐ, Shuǐ — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 水: 4 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.

水 — 4 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 水

Words with 水 in the HSK syllabus: 51

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 水shuǐShui ethnic groupHSK 1
  2. 水果shuǐguǒfruitHSK 1
  3. 矿泉水kuàngquánshuǐmineral waterHSK 3
  4. 水平shuǐpínghorizontal; level; a standard; a levelHSK 3
  5. 汽水qìshuǐsoda pop; carbonated soft drinkHSK 4
  6. 汗水hànshuǐsweat; perspirationHSK 5
  7. 降水jiàngshuǐrain and snow; precipitationHSK 5
  8. 开水kāishuǐboiled water; boiling waterHSK 5
  9. 泪水lèishuǐteardrop; tearsHSK 5
  10. 水分shuǐfènmoisture content; overstatement; paddingHSK 5
  11. 雨水yǔshuǐYushui or Rain Water, 2nd of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣|二十四节气 19th February-5th MarchHSK 5
  12. 洪水hóngshuǐdeluge; floodHSK 6
  13. 胶水jiāoshuǐglueHSK 6
  14. 酒水jiǔshuǐalcoholic and non-alcoholic beveragesHSK 6
  15. 热水器rèshuǐqìwater heaterHSK 6
  16. 水稻shuǐdàorice; paddyHSK 6
  17. 水库shuǐkùreservoirHSK 6
  18. 水流shuǐliúriver; streamHSK 6
  19. 水面shuǐmiànwater surfaceHSK 6
  20. 水泥shuǐnícementHSK 6
  21. 跳水tiàoshuǐto dive; divingHSK 6
  22. 污水wūshuǐsewageHSK 6
  23. 香水xiāngshuǐperfume; cologneHSK 6
  24. 薪水xīnshuisalary; wageHSK 6
  25. 饮用水yǐnyòngshuǐdrinking water; potable waterHSK 6
  26. 自来水zìláishuǐrunning water; tap waterHSK 6
  27. 潮水cháoshuǐtideHSK 7–9
  28. 淡水dànshuǐTamsui or Danshui, district of New Taipei City 新北市[Xin1 bei3 shi4], TaiwanHSK 7–9
  29. 地下水dìxiàshuǐgroundwaterHSK 7–9
  30. 放水fàngshuǐto turn on the water; to let water outHSK 7–9
  31. 风水fēngshuǐfeng shui; geomancyHSK 7–9
  32. 口水kǒushuǐsalivaHSK 7–9
  33. 流水liúshuǐrunning water; turnoverHSK 7–9
  34. 墨水mòshuǐinkHSK 7–9
  35. 溺水nìshuǐto drownHSK 7–9
  36. 萍水相逢píngshuǐ-xiāngféngstrangers coming together by chanceHSK 7–9
  37. 泼冷水pō lěngshuǐto pour cold water on; to dampen sb's enthusiasmHSK 7–9
  38. 潜水qiánshuǐto dive; to go under water; to lurkHSK 7–9
  39. 水产shuǐchǎnaquatic productHSK 7–9
  40. 水滴石穿shuǐdī-shíchuāndripping water penetrates the stone; constant perseverance yields successHSK 7–9

And 11 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.