勤 meaning and stroke order
Industrious, diligent, attentive
How to write 勤, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 勤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- diligent; industrious; hardworking
- frequent; regular; constant
- (bound form) work; duty; attendance
- (literary) diligent; industrious; hardworking (variant of 勤[qin2])
- (literary) solicitous; attentive
How 勤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Strength.
力 gives the meaning and 堇 hints at the sound.
Radical: 力 (strength), shared by 44 characters on this site.
How to remember 勤
勤 is built from 堇 (jǐn), which gives the sound, and 力 (lì), strength, on the right. Picture someone putting all their strength 力 into work again and again, and you have diligent.
勤 rarely stands alone in speech and usually appears in words like 勤奋 (qínfèn), 勤劳 (qínláo) and 辛勤 (xīnqín). It can also mean frequent, as in 勤洗手 (qín xǐ shǒu), wash your hands often. Example: 他学习很勤奋。(Tā xuéxí hěn qínfèn.) He studies very hard.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 勤 with 谨 (jǐn, careful) and 难 (nán) because of the similar left side. Remember that 勤 has 力 on the right for effort, while 谨 has 讠 on the left for careful speech.
Common words with 勤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 勤奋 | qínfèn | hardworking; diligent | HSK 5 |
| 勤劳 | qínláo | hardworking; industrious; diligent | HSK 7-9 |
| 勤快 | qínkuai | diligent; hardworking | HSK 7-9 |
| 后勤 | hòuqín | logistics | HSK 7-9 |
| 辛勤 | xīnqín | hardworking; industrious | HSK 7-9 |
| 殷勤 | yīnqín | politely; solicitously | HSK 7-9 |
| 勤工俭学 | qíngōng-jiǎnxué | to work part-time while studying; work-study program | HSK 7-9 |
| 特勤 | tèqín | special duty (e.g. extra security or traffic control on special occasions); person on spec | |
| 外勤 | wàiqín | work done in the field (rather than in the office or at the headquarters); fieldwork; fiel | |
| 执勤 | zhíqín | to be on duty (of a security guard etc) | |
| 出勤 | chūqín | to go to work; to be present (at work, school etc) | |
| 值勤 | zhíqín | variant of 執勤|执勤[zhi2 qin2] | |
| 勤务 | qínwù | service; duties |
勤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 勤
How many strokes are in 勤?
勤 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 勤 mean?
勤 (qín) means industrious, diligent, attentive. A common word with it is 勤奋 (qínfèn), meaning "hardworking; diligent".
How do you pronounce 勤?
勤 is pronounced qín, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 勤?
The radical of 勤 is 力, which carries the idea of "strength". Dictionaries list 勤 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 勤?
The traditional form of 勤 is 懃. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 勤 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 勤 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 勤 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 勤奋 and 勤劳?
勤奋 (qínfèn) is usually about studying or working hard toward a goal. 勤劳 (qínláo) praises someone for steady physical labor, often used for farmers or the working people in general.
Does 殷勤 (yīnqín) always have a positive meaning?
Not always. It means attentive or eager to please, but 献殷勤 (xiàn yīnqín) suggests fawning attention, often to win someone's favor.