Chinese Tattoo 誓: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 誓 means "swear, pledge; oath" and is pronounced shì. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 誓 |
| Pinyin | shì |
| Meaning | swear, pledge; oath |
| Strokes | 14 |
| Radical | ⾔ (No. 149) |
Words that contain 誓
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 发誓 | fā shì | to vow | newest-7 |
| 宣誓 | xuān shì | to swear an oath (of office) | newest-7 |
| 作誓 | zuo4 shi4 | to pledge | — |
| 恶誓 | e4 shi4 | evil oath | — |
| 盟誓 | meng2 shi4 | oath of alliance | — |
| 监誓 | jian1 shi4 | to administer an oath | — |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Characters sharing the ⾔ radical
All of these share the ⾔ radical, so they are visually related — useful when you compare designs.
Placing 誓
誓 runs to 14 strokes, which is dense for a single character. At small sizes the inner strokes close up and the character stops being readable — this one wants a larger placement (upper back, thigh, forearm) rather than a wrist or ankle. Tell your artist the intended size before the stencil is cut, because a design that reads at 8 cm can collapse at 4 cm. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 誓
誓 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “swear, pledge; oath”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 誓 mean?
誓 (shì) means “swear, pledge; oath”.
How is 誓 pronounced?
誓 is pronounced shì in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 誓 have?
誓 has 14 strokes, under the ⾔ radical (No. 149).
How large should a 誓 tattoo be?
With 14 strokes, 誓 is moderately dense — it stays legible from roughly 4–5 cm upward. Shrinking it below that risks the strokes merging.
Which style works for 誓?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 誓 common in modern Chinese?
It appears in everyday words such as 发誓、宣誓、作誓, though it is more often used inside compounds than alone.
Should I use simplified or traditional 誓?
誓 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 誓 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this