京 meaning and stroke order
Capital city
How to write 京, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 京
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- capital city of a country
- big
- algebraic term for a large number (old)
- artificial mound (old)
How 京 is built
Pictographic character. A capital building on a hill.
Radical: 亠 (lid), shared by 18 characters on this site.
How to remember 京
京 (jīng) is a picture of a tall capital building on a hill: 亠 is the roof, 口 is the building, and 小 below looks like the hill or pillars holding it up. Think of the grand palace that marks a capital city.
京 rarely stands alone today. It mostly appears in words like 北京 (Běijīng) and 京剧 (jīngjù), and as a short name for Beijing itself. Example: 我明天去北京。(Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng.) I am going to Beijing tomorrow.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 京 with 亮 (liàng, bright) or 就 (jiù), which contain similar top parts. Remember that 京 ends with 小 at the bottom, while 亮 ends with 几.
Common words with 京
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
京 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 京
Learning 京 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 京
How many strokes are in 京?
京 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 京 mean?
京 (jīng) means capital city. A common word with it is 北京 (Běijīng), meaning "Beijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (short name 京[Jing1])".
How do you pronounce 京?
京 is pronounced jīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 京?
The radical of 京 is 亠, which carries the idea of "lid". Dictionaries list 京 under this radical.
Is 京 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 京 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why is Beijing sometimes shortened to just 京?
In Chinese, each province and major city has a one-character abbreviation, and 京 is Beijing's. You see it on license plates, such as 京A, and in terms like 京沪 (Jīng Hù), Beijing and Shanghai.
Is 京都 (Jīngdū) the same as Kyoto?
Yes, 京都 is also how Chinese writes Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. In its general sense it simply means a capital city, but today most people will think of Kyoto first.