瞬 meaning and stroke order
To wink, to blink; an instant, the blink of an eye
How to write 瞬, stroke by stroke
17 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 瞬
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to wink
How 瞬 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Eye.
目 gives the meaning and 舜 hints at the sound.
Radical: 目 (eye), shared by 100 characters on this site.
How to remember 瞬
瞬 puts the eye 目 next to 舜 (shùn), which gives the sound. An eye that shuts for a moment is a blink, and a blink is the shortest moment you can measure.
In modern Chinese 瞬 almost never appears alone. It lives in words like 瞬间 (shùnjiān) and 一瞬间 (yīshùnjiān), which describe something happening in a flash. Example: 灯一瞬间就灭了。(Dēng yīshùnjiān jiù miè le.) The light went out in an instant.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the eye radical 目 as 日 because the two look alike. That loses the eye meaning, so always draw the 目 with two inner strokes. Some learners also say shǔn or shūn, but the tone is fourth, shùn.
Common words with 瞬
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
瞬 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 瞬
How many strokes are in 瞬?
瞬 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 瞬 mean?
瞬 (shùn) means to wink, to blink; an instant, the blink of an eye. A common word with it is 瞬间 (shùnjiān), meaning "in an instant; in a flash".
How do you pronounce 瞬?
瞬 is pronounced shùn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 瞬?
The radical of 瞬 is 目, which carries the idea of "eye". Dictionaries list 瞬 under this radical.
Is 瞬 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 瞬 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I use 瞬 by itself to mean to blink?
Not in everyday speech. People say 眨眼 (zhǎyǎn) for to blink. 瞬 mainly appears in set words like 瞬间 and 一瞬.
What is the difference between 瞬间 and 马上?
瞬间 (shùnjiān) describes how quickly something happened, as in a flash. 马上 (mǎshàng) means right away and often talks about what someone will do soon, like 我马上来 (wǒ mǎshàng lái), I am coming right away.