谁 shéi — who · English

谁

shéi

who

At a glance · 谁

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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.

小篆从言隹声，形声字，本为疑问代词。隶楷作「誰」，简化作「谁」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「谁」为疑问代词，询问人。

Structure

形声字，言为意符，隹为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinshéi

Radical讠

Strokes10

UnicodeU+8C01

Character type形声

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

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

English who Who (interrogative pronoun).

Français qui Qui (pronom interrogatif).

Español quién Quién (pronombre interrogativo).

العربية من من (ضمير استفهام).

Русский кто Кто (вопросительное местоимение).

Common words

谁shuíwho
谁知shuí zhīwho knows

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