孰 shú — who, which · English

孰

shú

who, which

At a glance · 孰

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文象以火熟食物（享）之形，本为「熟」字。后借为疑问代词「谁、哪」。隶楷作「孰」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「孰」本指食物煮熟，假借为疑问代词。

Structure

会意字，从享（或孰）从火，本表熟；后借为疑问词。

At a glance

Pinyinshú

Radical子

Strokes11

UnicodeU+5B70

Character type会意

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English who, which Who, which (interrogative); original form of 熟.

Français qui, lequel Qui, lequel (interrogatif); forme originale de 熟.

Español quién, cuál Quién, cuál (interrogativo); forma original de 熟.

العربية مَن، أي أداة استفهام (مَن/أي)؛ أصلها «ناضج».

Русский кто, который Кто, который (вопросит.); исходная форма 熟.

Common words

孰shúwho
孰若shú ruòhow compare

◉ Listen