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.
元yuáncurrency unit
二two · èr
儿legs · ér
Memory aidA person 儿 with the head marked on top 二: the head, the first. Today it is also China’s main unit of money.
首shǒuhead
首 is a single shape of 9 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
How to write 元首
元 4 strokes · 首 9 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 元首 (yuánshǒu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
元首 (yuánshǒu) means “head of state”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yuánshǒu: yuán with a 2nd tone, then shǒu with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 元首 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yuanshou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 元首 from the suggestions. Typing yuanshou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
元首 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
元yuán2nd tone, rising
首shǒu3rd tone, dipping
