(shè) - to shoot, to fire; to project, to emit in Mandarin
shèTraditional: 射
Translation
to shoot, to fire; to project, to emit
Word origin
The oldest forms show a hand drawing a bow with an arrow on the string. The bow was later miswritten as 身 (shēn, body), leaving 身 beside 寸 (cùn, hand) in the modern shape.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Root
- 身 (a corrupted bow) + 寸 (cùn, hand)
Stroke order
射
Examples
箭。
He hit the target with a single arrow.
。
The sunlight shone into the room.
。
The officer fired a shot into the air.
。
Everyone stood up when he shot at goal.
。
Do not shine the torch in my eyes.
射 (shè) is to send something flying away from you along a line: an arrow, a bullet, a football, a beam of light. Archery gave it its shape and its oldest meaning, and every later sense is an extension of that one gesture.
In modern use it lives mostly inside compounds. 射击 is shooting as a sport or a military act, 发射 is to launch a rocket, 反射 is to reflect, 射门 is to shoot at goal, and 照射 is light falling on a surface. On its own it stays close to the physical act: 射中 is to hit what you aimed at, 射进 is to go in.
The trap is the light sense. English does not think of a torch beam as being shot, so 光射进房间 feels strange at first; treat 射 as covering anything that travels in a straight line from a source, and it stops being strange.
Where this fits
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射: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "射" (to shoot, to fire; to project, to emit): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 58.