ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

who

shéi
10 strokes · 讠 (speech radical) + 隹 (short-tailed bird, phonetic) · HSK 1

Where 谁 comes from

谁 = 讠(speech) + 隹 (a short-tailed bird, lending sound). 'Who' is something you ask out loud, so it carries the speech radical — the same one in 说, 谢, 读.

谁 in Chinese culture

谁 has two accepted readings: shéi (more common in speech) and shuí (more formal/literary) — both are correct, so don't worry which you hear. It asks 'who': 你是谁? (Who are you?), 谁是老师? (Who is the teacher?). It can also mean 'anyone / whoever': 谁都可以 (anyone can).

Example

是谁 shì shéi — who is (it)

你是谁?
Nǐ shì shéi?
Who are you?

How to remember it

The speech radical (讠) — a question you ask aloud: WHO?

谁 is read both shéi and shuí — both are 'correct'. Native speakers mostly say shéi in conversation, shuí in formal reading. Pick either; you'll be understood.

Same sound, different tones

Words unlocked by 谁

你是谁? Nǐ shì shéi?
Who are you?
是谁 shì shéi
who is it
LEARN 谁 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 169-character HSK library · iOS