画册
huà cè · picture album
这本画册很漂亮。
This picture album is beautiful.
Chinese character · HSK 5
册 (cè) — “book / volume”
The character is an ancient pictogram depicting several bamboo slips (the ancient medium for writing) tied together with a horizontal string to form a book or scroll.
Memory cue
Four vertical bamboo slips tied with a single string make an ancient book (册).
Video mnemonic
Watch 册 in motion
See the visual story unfold, then connect it to the words and sentences below.
Also watch on Instagram.
Common ways to use 册
册 is read cè throughout this set. It directly suggests a book or volume in 画册 and 手册, while 注册 is a lexicalized verb meaning “to register.”
手册
shǒu cè · manual or handbook
请先看看学生手册。
Please look through the student handbook first.
注册
zhù cè · to register or sign up
我想注册一个新账号。
I want to register a new account.
Usage note: Learn 注册 as a complete verb; 册 does not refer to a physical book here.
Inside the character
- 冂 (open frame) — meaning component. An open frame shape — often acts as a container or wraps around inner pieces.
- 一 (one) — meaning component. A single horizontal stroke — the simplest mark, often acting as a divider or ground line.
Where 册 comes from
An original pictogram showing strips of bamboo or wood bound together by cords, representing the earliest form of Chinese books before the invention of paper.
Don’t mix up 册
These characters are close enough in shape to misread at speed. Telling them apart is a matter of spotting the one component that differs.
- 丽 (lì, beautiful) — Both contain 一 — the rest of the character is what tells them apart.
Learn 册 the visual way. InkSeal pairs every HSK 1–6
character with an illustration like this one, Common-use words and sentences,
component breakdowns, etymology, and recall-first review. The first 100
characters are free.
More characters: 卖 (mài, to sell) · 史 (shǐ, history / annals) · 壮 (zhuàng, strong / robust) — or browse the full character library.