孰 (shú) — (literary) interrogative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'what'

Definition

A classical/literary interrogative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'what' — used almost entirely in set phrases like 孰是孰非. Modern speakers use 谁 or 哪个 instead.

pronoun
(literary) interrogative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'what'
Easily confused

Examples

  • 孰？
    shú Néng wú guò?
    Who can avoid mistakes?
  • ，孰？
    Rǔ yù qù, shú liú zhī?
    You want to leave; who will stop you?
  • ，孰？
    Cǐ èr zhě, shú yōu?
    Between these two, which is better?

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
丮丮jǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦎫
𦎫𦎫孰shú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孰 uses 𦎫 for the sound and 丮 for the meaning, though the modern shape has changed from those two parts.

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