嵌 meaning and stroke order
Valley, ravine; to fall into; to inlay, to set in
How to write 嵌, stroke by stroke
12 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 嵌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- see 赤嵌樓|赤嵌楼[Chi4 kan3 lou2]
- to inlay
- to embed
- Taiwan pr. [qian1]
How 嵌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mountain.
山 gives the meaning and 欠 hints at the sound.
Radical: 山 (mountain), shared by 111 characters on this site.
How to remember 嵌
Picture a mountain 山 (shān) on top, with 甘 and 欠 tucked underneath, as if pressed into the rock. The semantic part 山 hints at mountains, and 欠 (qiàn) gives the sound, so think of something set deep into a mountainside.
Today 嵌 (qiàn) mostly means to inlay or embed, and it usually appears in compounds like 镶嵌 (xiāngqiàn) and 嵌入 (qiànrù). It is common in descriptions of jewelry and crafts, and also in tech contexts. Example: 戒指上嵌着一颗钻石。(Jièzhi shàng qiànzhe yì kē zuànshí.) A diamond is set in the ring.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 嵌 with 嵘 or simply read it as kǎn everywhere. In mainland Mandarin it is qiàn in fourth tone for inlay and embed. The kǎn reading is only used in the place name 赤嵌楼 (Chìkǎn Lóu).
Common words with 嵌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 镶嵌 | xiāngqiàn | to inlay; to embed | HSK 7-9 |
| 嵌入 | qiànrù | to insert; to embed |
嵌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 嵌
How many strokes are in 嵌?
嵌 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嵌 mean?
嵌 (qiàn) means valley, ravine; to fall into; to inlay, to set in. A common word with it is 镶嵌 (xiāngqiàn), meaning "to inlay; to embed".
How do you pronounce 嵌?
嵌 is pronounced qiàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 嵌?
The radical of 嵌 is 山, which carries the idea of "mountain". Dictionaries list 嵌 under this radical.
Is 嵌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 嵌 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why do some Taiwanese speakers say qiān for 嵌?
The dictionary notes that the Taiwan pronunciation is qiān, first tone. Mainland standard Mandarin uses qiàn, fourth tone. Both refer to the same meaning of inlaying or embedding.
How is 嵌入 used in technology?
嵌入 (qiànrù) means to embed or insert, so it appears in terms about putting one thing inside another, such as embedding a video in a webpage. You can say 把视频嵌入网页 (bǎ shìpín qiànrù wǎngyè), to embed a video in a webpage.