賊
Character learning workspace

zéi · thief, traitor

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

Watch · inspect · write

Learn every stroke in 賊

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 賊 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Character anatomy

Understand the reusable parts

The decomposition shows how the visual pieces fit together, not necessarily the character’s historical origin.

Writing notes

Shape and proportion

13Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Left-rightCharacter structure

Keep the left side compact and leave enough room for the right side.

貝Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 賊 writing sheet

Get a ready-to-use A4 sheet immediately, or open the full builder to change its grid and guidance.

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 賊

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

No common curriculum words are indexed for this character yet.

Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 賊 sits in each complete thought.

Yí gè qiè zéi chuǎng jìn le tā de fángzi.一個竊賊闖進了他的房子。

A burglar broke into his house.

Source: Tatoeba #844475 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Qiè zéi shì cóng zhè shàn mén jìn dào wūzi lǐ de.竊賊是從這扇門進到屋子裡的。

The burglar gained access to the house through this door.

Source: Tatoeba #1438726 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Jǐng fāng gēn jù xiàn chǎng yí xià de zhèng wù bǎ zéi zǐ zhǎo le chū lái.警方根據現場遺下的證物把賊子找了出來。

The burglar was traced by one of the things he had left on the scene.

Source: Tatoeba #387116 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Jǐng guān dǎi bǔ le qiè zéi.警官逮捕了竊賊。

The police officer arrested the burglar.

Source: Tatoeba #870316 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Jǐng chá dǎi bǔ le qiè zéi.警察逮捕了竊賊。

The policemen arrested the burglar.

Source: Tatoeba #839575 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Jǐng chá jū bǔ le zhè gè qiè zéi.警察拘捕了這個竊賊。

The police officers arrested the burglar.

Source: Tatoeba #872129 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 賊 in context

  1. Say zéi, then recall the core meaning: thief, traitor.
  2. Write all 13 strokes while keeping the left-right balanced.
  3. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 賊 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.