Corpse Radical (尸) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet
尸 is the corpse radical. It appears in 15 of the most common Chinese characters — these 12 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.
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What does 尸 mean?
Corpse radical · 尸 shī · 3 strokes · corpse; a lying figure
As a radical it is called 尸字头 (shī zì tóu).
It usually appears as a frame over the character. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.
Shapes: 尸
尸 itself: A man keeled over
12 common characters with 尸
Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 展 | zhǎn | exhibition, display | Laying out clothes 㠭 for sale in a market 尸; compare 㠭 |
| 层 | céng | layer, tier; floor, storey | Simplified form of 層; 曾 provides the pronunciation |
| 属 | shǔ | belong, be | 禹 supplies the sound |
| 户 | hù | [measure word for households] | Simplified form of 戶; a door swinging on its hinge |
| 屋 | wū | house, room | To stop 至 under a roof 尸 (variant of 厂) |
| 届 | jiè | [measure word used for regular conferences, meetings, graduating classes, sports games, etc.] | |
| 尾 | wěi | tail; end | A furry 毛 tail behind a body 尸 |
| 屈 | qū | bent; to feel wronged | 出 supplies the sound |
| 刷 | shuā | a brush; to paint; to daub; to brush; to scrub; (fig.) to remove; to e… | A person bent over 尸 with a towel 巾 |
| 眉 | méi | eyebrow | Picture of hair 尸 above an eye 目 |
| 尺 | chǐ | [measure word for length in Chinese local unit] Chinese foot, chi (equivalent often cun or one-third of a metre) | Picture of a man measuring by pacing |
| 殿 | diàn | palace hall |
Related Radicals
- 宀Roof radical · mián39 common characters · a roof
- 寸Inch radical · cùn23 common characters · inch; a hand measuring
- 小Small radical · xiǎo12 common characters · small
- 山Mountain radical · shān14 common characters · mountain
- 工Work radical · gōng16 common characters · work, craft
- 干Dry radical · gān12 common characters · dry; a shield
Create Your Own Chinese Worksheet
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