尘 meaning and stroke order
Cinders, ashes, dust, dirt
How to write 尘, stroke by stroke
6 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 尘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- dust
- dirt
- earth
How 尘 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Small 小 flakes of earth 土.
Radical: 小 (small), shared by 10 characters on this site.
How to remember 尘
尘 stacks 小 (xiǎo, small) on top of 土 (tǔ, earth). Tiny bits of earth are dust.
尘 rarely stands alone in everyday speech. It usually appears in words like 灰尘 (huīchén, dust) and 吸尘器 (xīchénqì, vacuum cleaner). Example: 桌子上都是灰尘。(Zhuōzi shang dōu shì huīchén.) The table is covered in dust.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 尘 with 尖 (jiān, pointed), which also has 小 on top but 大 underneath. Remember that dust comes from 土, the earth.
Common words with 尘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 灰尘 | huīchén | dust | HSK 7-9 |
| 尘土 | chéntǔ | dust | |
| 尘埃 | chén'āi | dust | |
| 吸尘器 | xīchénqì | vacuum cleaner | |
| 尘世 | chénshì | (religion) this mortal life; the mundane world | |
| 沙尘暴 | shāchénbào | sand and dust storm | |
| 尘埃落定 | Chén'āiluòdìng | lit. the dust has settled (idiom); fig. to get sorted out | |
| 后尘 | hòuchén | lit. trailing dust; fig. sb's footsteps | |
| 一尘不染 | yīchénbùrǎn | (idiom) untainted by even a speck of dust; spotlessly clean; (of a person) honest; incorru |
尘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 尘
How many strokes are in 尘?
尘 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 尘 mean?
尘 (chén) means cinders, ashes, dust, dirt. A common word with it is 灰尘 (huīchén), meaning "dust".
How do you pronounce 尘?
尘 is pronounced chén, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 尘?
The radical of 尘 is 小, which carries the idea of "small". Dictionaries list 尘 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 尘?
The traditional form of 尘 is 塵. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 尘 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 尘 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 尘 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 灰尘 and 尘土?
灰尘 (huīchén) is the fine dust that settles on furniture and surfaces indoors. 尘土 (chéntǔ) suggests dirt and dust kicked up outdoors, such as on a road.
What does 步人后尘 mean?
It literally means to walk in someone's trailing dust, built on 后尘 (hòuchén). It means to follow in someone's footsteps, often implying copying them or repeating their mistakes.