尺
2 readings · tap one to hear it
a Chinese foot; one-third of a meter; a ruler; a tape-measure; one of the three acupoints for measuring pulse in Chinese medicine; CL:支[zhi1],把[ba3]
- HSK 3.0
- Level 4
- Old HSK
- Level 5
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 尸 +1
- Structure
- Upper-left enclosure 左上包
- Traditional
- 尺
- Common rank
- #1,273
- Unicode
- U+5C3A
Sound it out + = · + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How to remember it
ruler · Heisig RSH #894
flag
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 尺
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 立方公尺 | (Tw) cubic meter (m³) | |
| 水平尺 | spirit level | |
| 冰冻三尺，非一日之寒 | three feet of ice does not form in a single day (idiom); Rome wasn't built in a day | |
| 尺有所短，寸有所长 | lit. for some things a foot may be too short, and for the other an inch will suffice (prov… | |
| 平方英尺 | square foot (unit of area equal to 0.093 m²) | |
| 道高一尺，魔高一丈 | (saying) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challen… | |
| 无风三尺浪 | lit. large waves in windless conditions (idiom); fig. trouble arising unexpectedly | |
| 游标卡尺 | dial calipers | |
| 量油尺 | dipstick; oil measuring rod | |
| 合四乙尺工 | names of the five notes of the Chinese pentatonic scale, corresponding roughly to do, re, … | |
| 千分尺 | micrometer screw gauge; micrometer | |
| 直角尺 | a set square (carpenter's tool) | |
| 尺规作图 | ruler and compass construction (geometry) | |
| 丁字尺 | T-square; set square (carpenter's tool) | |
| 尺子 | ruler (measuring instrument); CL:把[ba3] | |
| 深度尺 | depth indicator or gauge | |
| 市尺 | chi (Chinese unit of length equal to ⅓ meter) | |
| 百尺竿头，更进一步 | lit. after climbing a hundred feet up a pole, one should go even further (idiom); fig. eve… | |
| 公尺 | (Tw) meter (unit of length) | |
| 角尺 | set square (tool to measure right angles) |
Sound family
These characters use 尺 as their sound component — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 尺 sound part | ruler, tape-measure; unit of length, about 1 ft. | |
| 迟 | tardy, slow, late; to delay | |
| 呎 | foot |