珍 meaning and stroke order

zhēn

A treasure, a precious thing; rare, valuable

Strokes9
Pinyinzhēn
ToneTone 1
Frequency#1,178

How to write 珍, 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.

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Meaning of 珍

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

zhēnfirst tone (high and level)
  1. precious thing
  2. treasure
  3. culinary delicacy
  4. rare
  5. valuable
  6. to value highly

How 珍 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Jade.

王 gives the meaning and 彡 hints at the sound.

Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.

How to remember 珍

The left side 王 here stands for jade, and the right side 人 over 彡 hints at the sound. Picture a person admiring a shining piece of jade with sparkle lines 彡 around it: something precious, 珍 (zhēn).

珍 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words like 珍惜 (zhēnxī, to treasure), 珍贵 (zhēnguì, precious) and 珍珠 (zhēnzhū, pearl). Example: 我们要珍惜时间。(Wǒmen yào zhēnxī shíjiān.) We should value our time.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 珍 with 诊 (zhěn, to examine a patient), which has the same right side but the speech radical 讠 and a third tone. Remember that 珍 with 王 is about jade and treasure, not doctors.

Common words with 珍

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
珍惜zhēnxīto treasure; to valueHSK 5
珍贵zhēnguìpreciousHSK 5
珍珠zhēnzhūpearl (CL:顆|颗[ke1],粒[li4]); (fig.) teardrop; tearHSK 5
袖珍xiùzhēnpocket-sized; pocket (book etc)HSK 6
珍藏zhēncánga collection of rare and valuable items; to collect (such items)HSK 7-9
珍视zhēnshìto place great importance on; to treasureHSK 7-9
珍重zhēnzhòngto treasure; to cherish; to value highly; (in parting) take good care of yourselfHSK 7-9
珍宝zhēnbǎoa treasure
珍爱zhēn'àito cherish
珍品zhēnpǐnvaluable object; curio

珍 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

没méi有yǒu什shén么me和hé时shí间jiān一yī样yàng珍zhēn贵guì。
Nothing is so precious as time.
你nǐ可kě能néng误wù认rèn珍zhēn为wèi他tā的de妹mèi妹mèi。
You may have mistaken Jane for his sister.
史shǐ蒂dì夫fū收shōu到dào了le一yī封fēng珍zhēn的de信xìn。
Steve received a letter from Jane.
珍zhēn好hǎo像xiàng有yǒu一yí个gè新xīn的de男nán朋péng友yǒu。
Jane seems to have a new boyfriend.
找zhǎo到dào了le寻xún找zhǎo已yǐ久jiǔ的de珍zhēn本běn。
I found the rare edition that I've been looking so long for.

Questions about 珍

How many strokes are in 珍?

珍 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 珍 mean?

珍 (zhēn) means a treasure, a precious thing; rare, valuable. A common word with it is 珍惜 (zhēnxī), meaning "to treasure; to value".

How do you pronounce 珍?

珍 is pronounced zhēn, in the first tone (high and level).

What is the radical of 珍?

The radical of 珍 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 珍 under this radical.

What is the traditional form of 珍?

The traditional form of 珍 is 珎. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 珍 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.

Is 珍 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 珍 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 珍惜 and 珍贵?

珍惜 (zhēnxī) is a verb meaning to treasure or cherish something, like time or a friendship. 珍贵 (zhēnguì) is an adjective meaning precious or valuable, as in 珍贵的礼物 (a precious gift).

What does 珍重 mean when people say goodbye?

When parting, 珍重 (zhēnzhòng) means take good care of yourself. It sounds warm and a bit formal or literary, so it is often used for long separations rather than everyday goodbyes.

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