川 meaning and stroke order
Stream, river
How to write 川, stroke by stroke
3 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
Meaning of 川
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) river
- creek
- plain
- an area of level country
How 川 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A river's flow; compare 巛.
How to remember 川
The three strokes of 川 (chuān) look like water flowing between two banks, with the curved first stroke 丿 showing the current bending as it runs. Picture three lines of water streaming downhill and you have a river.
川 is a bound form, so it rarely stands alone and usually appears inside words like 山川 (shānchuān), 冰川 (bīngchuān) and 河川 (héchuān). It is also the short name for Sichuan province, as in 川菜 (chuāncài, Sichuan cuisine). Example: 街上车辆川流不息。(Jiē shang chēliàng chuānliú-bùxī.) Traffic on the street flows without stopping.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write all three strokes as straight verticals, but the first stroke is 丿, a left-falling curve, and the middle stroke is shorter than the last. Do not confuse 川 with 州 (zhōu, state or prefecture), which adds three dots between the lines.
Common words with 川
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
川 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 川
Learning 川 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 川
How many strokes are in 川?
川 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 川 mean?
川 (chuān) means stream, river. A common word with it is 山川 (shānchuān), meaning "mountains and rivers; landscape".
How do you pronounce 川?
川 is pronounced chuān, in the first tone (high and level).
Is 川 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 川 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say 'river' in everyday Chinese if 川 is a bound form?
In daily speech use 河 (hé) for most rivers or 江 (jiāng) for large ones, such as 长江 (Chángjiāng). 川 mainly shows up in set words, place names and formal writing.
Why does 川 appear on Sichuan restaurant signs?
川 is the standard one-character abbreviation for 四川 (Sìchuān) province. So 川菜 means Sichuan food and 川味 (chuānwèi) means Sichuan flavor.