琴 meaning and stroke order
Guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither); musical instrument in general
How to write 琴, 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.
- 1
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Meaning of 琴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither)
- musical instrument in general
- variant of 琴[qin2], guqin or zither
How 琴 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Two guitar strings 玨 suggest the meaning; 今 provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.
How to remember 琴
The top part 玨 looks like two sets of strings stretched side by side, which suggests a stringed instrument. The bottom part 今 (jīn) gives the sound, so picture strings on top and a sound hint underneath: 琴 (qín).
琴 (qín) rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears as the last part of instrument names like 钢琴 (gāngqín, piano), 小提琴 (xiǎotíqín, violin) and 口琴 (kǒuqín, harmonica). Example: 她每天弹钢琴。 (Tā měitiān tán gāngqín.) She plays the piano every day.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 令 (lìng) instead of 今 (jīn). 今 ends with a short stroke shaped like a hook, not the 令 ending. Also note the verb: you say 弹钢琴 (tán gāngqín) for piano, but 拉小提琴 (lā xiǎotíqín) for violin, because you pull a bow.
Common words with 琴
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 钢琴 | gāngqín | piano | HSK 5 |
| 小提琴 | xiǎotíqín | fiddle; violin | HSK 7-9 |
| 大提琴 | dàtíqín | cello (CL:把[ba3]) | |
| 弹琴 | tánqín | to play or strum a lute or other stringed instrument | |
| 钢琴家 | gāngqínjiā | pianist | |
| 口琴 | kǒuqín | harmonica | |
| 手风琴 | shǒufēngqín | accordion | |
| 竖琴 | shùqín | harp | |
| 琴酒 | qínjiǔ | gin (Taiwan variant of 金酒[jin1 jiu3]) | |
| 风琴 | fēngqín | pipe organ (musical instrument) | |
| 小提琴手 | xiǎotíqínshǒu | violinist; fiddler | |
| 钢琴师 | gāngqínshī | pianist |
琴 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 琴
How many strokes are in 琴?
琴 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 琴 mean?
琴 (qín) means guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither); musical instrument in general. A common word with it is 钢琴 (gāngqín), meaning "piano".
How do you pronounce 琴?
琴 is pronounced qín, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 琴?
The radical of 琴 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 琴 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 琴?
The traditional form of 琴 is 琹. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 琴 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 琴 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 琴 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 琴 only mean string instruments?
No. It started with the guqin, a zither, but now it works as a general ending for many instruments. Even the harmonica 口琴 (kǒuqín) and accordion 手风琴 (shǒufēngqín) use it, though they have no strings.
What is the difference between 琴 and 古琴?
古琴 (gǔqín) refers specifically to the traditional seven string Chinese zither. On its own in classical texts, 琴 often meant this same instrument, but in modern Chinese people say 古琴 to be clear.