Character Familiesleft / right

什shén, shí

used in 什么 (what)

什 is what in 什么; read shí it mixes things up, as in 什锦.

GF0025–2021 character list · 一级

One character pageAll readings and linked senses stay together.

WHOLE GLYPH & STRUCTURE

left / right

ZDIC: 会意, person with ten, and 十 also gives the sound (十亦声).

left / right · 什

WHOLE CHARACTER

used in 什么 (what)

什 is what in 什么; read shí it mixes things up, as in 什锦.

ZDIC: 会意, person with ten, and 十 also gives the sound (十亦声).

MEANING: PERSON

person (from 人)

Left-side person form; not a standalone page.

In 什: meaning: person Shown with its documented or clearly limited role.

MEANING: TEN; ALSO SOUND

ten

Described structurally in 早; no invented story.

In 什: meaning: ten; also sound ZDIC: 十亦声 — shí matches the reading exactly.

shénTone 2only in 什么

shíTone 2

Checking for a Mandarin voice…

ZDIC: 会意, person with ten, and 十 also gives the sound (十亦声).

休 xiū — Shares a documented or visibly limited component with 什.

假 jiǎ, jià — Shares a documented or visibly limited component with 什.

们 men, mén — Shares a documented or visibly limited component with 什.

你 nǐ — Shares a documented or visibly limited component with 什.

Sources & verification

ZDIC single character entry — matched zdic; fields: pinyin, primary_definition, structure_strokes. Body SHA256: 3e112780fa2c0e5f19e38e0485f8de1bd566cd64155826982302613f393dd8a2. Captured 2026-11-01T01:46:36.736Z.
商务印书馆 Xinhua Dictionary official material — reference only; fields: edition, publication background. No specific character entry was obtained; dictionary fields are not covered.