擎 meaning and stroke order
To lift; to support, to hold up
How to write 擎, stroke by stroke
16 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 擎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to raise; to hold up; to lift up
How 擎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
手 gives the meaning and 敬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 手 (hand), shared by 23 characters on this site.
How to remember 擎
擎 puts 敬 (jìng, respect) on top of 手 (shǒu, hand). Picture a hand lifting something up high out of respect, like raising an offering, and you have the meaning "to hold up." 敬 also hints at the sound, jìng becoming qíng.
Today 擎 is most common in the loanword 引擎 (yǐnqíng, engine), and in literary phrases about holding something up high. Example: 汽车的引擎坏了。 (Qìchē de yǐnqíng huài le.) The car's engine is broken.
Common mistake: Learners often read 擎 as jìng because of the 敬 on top, but it is qíng with a second tone. Do not confuse it with 警 (jǐng, to warn), which has 言 at the bottom instead of 手.
Common words with 擎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 引擎 | yǐnqíng | engine (loanword) | HSK 7-9 |
| 引擎盖 | yǐnqínggài | (car) hood; bonnet |
擎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 擎
How many strokes are in 擎?
擎 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 擎 mean?
擎 (qíng) means to lift; to support, to hold up. A common word with it is 引擎 (yǐnqíng), meaning "engine (loanword)".
How do you pronounce 擎?
擎 is pronounced qíng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 擎?
The radical of 擎 is 手, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 擎 under this radical.
Is 擎 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 擎 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 引擎 mean engine?
引擎 (yǐnqíng) is a sound loan from the English word "engine." The characters were chosen partly for sound, and 擎 (to lift, to drive up) fits the idea of power.
Can I use 擎 alone to say "lift" in daily speech?
Not usually. In everyday speech people say 举 (jǔ) or 抬 (tái). 擎 alone sounds literary and shows up in set phrases like 擎天柱 (qíngtiānzhù, a pillar holding up the sky), the Chinese name for Optimus Prime.