春 meaning and stroke order
Springtime; joyful, lustful, wanton
How to write 春, stroke by stroke
9 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
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 春
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- spring (season)
- gay
- joyful
- youthful
- love
- lust
How 春 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sun.
日 gives the meaning.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 春
The bottom of 春 is 日 (rì), the sun. Picture plants sprouting up above the warming sun, and you have spring.
春 usually appears in compounds rather than alone, such as 春天 (chūntiān, spring) and 春节 (Chūnjié, Spring Festival). It also carries the idea of youth and vitality, as in 青春 (qīngchūn). Example: 春天来了。(Chūntiān lái le.) Spring has come.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 春 with 秦 (Qín) or 奏 (zòu), which share the same top part. Check the bottom: only 春 has 日 (rì) underneath.
Common words with 春
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) | HSK 2 |
| 春节 | Chūnjié | Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) | HSK 2 |
| 青春 | qīngchūn | youth; youthfulness | HSK 4 |
| 春季 | chūnjì | springtime | HSK 4 |
| 青春期 | qīngchūnqī | puberty; adolescence | HSK 7-9 |
| 小春 | xiǎochūn | 10th month of the lunar calendar; Indian summer | |
| 春日 | chūnrì | springtime | |
| 春假 | chūnjià | spring break | |
| 咏春 | yǒngchūn | Wing Chun; same as 詠春拳|咏春拳[yong3 chun1 quan2] | |
| 春卷 | chūnjuǎn | egg roll; spring roll | |
| 常春藤 | chángchūnténg | ivy | |
| 春秋 | Chūnqiū | spring and autumn; four seasons | |
| 青春痘 | qīngchūndòu | acne | |
| 春药 | chūnyào | aphrodisiac |
春 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 春
Learning 春 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 春
How many strokes are in 春?
春 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 春 mean?
春 (chūn) means springtime; joyful, lustful, wanton. A common word with it is 春天 (chūntiān), meaning "spring (season)".
How do you pronounce 春?
春 is pronounced chūn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 春?
The radical of 春 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 春 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 春?
The traditional form of 春 is 旾. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 春 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 春 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 春 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why is Chinese New Year called 春节 (Chūnjié)?
The lunar new year marks the traditional start of spring in the Chinese calendar. So the holiday is literally the Spring Festival, even though it falls in January or February.
Does 春 have romantic or sexual meanings?
Yes, in some words 春 suggests love or desire, because spring is linked with awakening feelings. For example, 春心 (chūnxīn) means romantic longing. In everyday words like 春天 it simply means spring.