HSK 5 · Ideas

手续 shǒuxù “procedure” in Chinese

Traditional 手續

What 手续 means

  1. procedure
  2. formalities

Measure word 道 dào or 个 gè · 一道手续 yí dào shǒuxù

How to say 手续

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale手shǒu3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale续xù4th tone, falling

手续 in a sentence

  1. 我们去办一下手续吧。

    Wǒmen qù bàn yíxià shǒuxù ba.

    Let’s go and sort out the paperwork.

    Sentence #747558 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 如果你不按照安全手续来的话,你可能会受伤的。

    Rúguǒ nǐ bú ànzhào ānquán shǒuxù lái dehuà, nǐ kěnéng huì shòushāng de.

    If you don’t follow the safety procedures, you could get hurt.

    Sentence #334299 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 联合航空公司办理登机手续的柜台在哪里?

    Liánhé Hángkōng Gōngsī bànlǐ dēngjī shǒuxù de guìtái zài nǎlǐ?

    Where is the United Airlines check-in counter?

    Sentence #903043 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 手续 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 手 (shǒu) drawn as one shape
手shǒuhand

手 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a hand with its fingers spread. On the left of a character it is written 扌.

The character 续 (xù) with each of its parts in a different colour
续xùto continue
  • 纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
  • 卖to sell · màiSound part

纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 卖 (mài) hints at the sound. Compare it with xù.

How to write 手续

手 4 strokes · 续 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

手续 (shǒuxù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 手续 (shǒuxù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 手续

Words with 手

Words with 续

More words: Ideas & Concepts

FAQs

手续 (shǒuxù) means “procedure” or “formalities”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it shǒuxù: shǒu with a 3rd tone, then xù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 手续 is written 手續. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 道 (dào) or 个 (gè). For example, one procedure is 一道手续 (yí dào shǒuxù).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shouxu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 手续 from the suggestions. Typing shouxu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
手续 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.