筝 meaning and stroke order
Guzheng, zither, string instrument
How to write 筝, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
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- 8
- 9
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- 11
- 12
Meaning of 筝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- see 古箏|古筝[gu3 zheng1]
How 筝 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bamboo.
⺮ gives the meaning and 争 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺮ (bamboo), shared by 149 characters on this site.
How to remember 筝
The bamboo top ⺮ points to an instrument once made with bamboo, and 争 (zhēng) below gives the sound. Picture bamboo strings that seem to 争 (compete) to be heard when plucked.
筝 rarely stands alone. It appears mainly in 古筝 (gǔzhēng), the Chinese zither, and in 风筝 (fēngzheng), kite. Example: 孩子们在公园放风筝。(Háizimen zài gōngyuán fàng fēngzheng.) The children are flying kites in the park.
Common mistake: Learners often write 争 alone or confuse 筝 with 挣 (zhèng, to earn) or 睁 (zhēng, to open the eyes), which share the same phonetic part. Remember the bamboo top for the instrument and the kite.
Common words with 筝
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
筝 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 筝
How many strokes are in 筝?
筝 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 筝 mean?
筝 (zhēng) means guzheng, zither, string instrument. A common word with it is 风筝 (fēngzheng), meaning "kite (lit. "wind zither", traditionally explained as being named after kites fitted with b".
How do you pronounce 筝?
筝 is pronounced zhēng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 筝?
The radical of 筝 is ⺮, which carries the idea of "bamboo". Dictionaries list 筝 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 筝?
The traditional form of 筝 is 箏. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 筝 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 筝 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 筝 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 筝 toneless in 风筝?
In 风筝 (fēngzheng) the second syllable is usually read in the neutral tone in everyday Mandarin. In 古筝 (gǔzhēng) it keeps its first tone.
Why does the word for kite contain the character for zither?
风筝 literally means "wind zither." It is traditionally explained by kites fitted with devices that made a sound in the wind, like a stringed instrument.