籤 meaning and stroke order
Label, marker, tag; signature; visa
How to write 籤, stroke by stroke
23 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 籤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- inscribed bamboo stick (used in divination, gambling, drawing lots etc)
- small wood sliver
- label
- tag
How 籤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bamboo.
⺮ gives the meaning and 韱 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺮ (bamboo), shared by 149 characters on this site.
How to remember 籤
籤 has bamboo ⺮ on top, which gives the meaning, and 韱 (xiān) underneath, which hints at the sound qiān. Picture a thin bamboo stick with writing on it, the kind you shake out of a cup at a temple to draw your fortune.
籤 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mainland China writes it 签. It appears in words for small sticks and tags, like 标签 (biāoqiān, label) and 牙签 (yáqiān, toothpick). Example: 我們抽籤決定吧。(Wǒmen chōuqiān juédìng ba.) Let's draw lots to decide.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 籤 with 簽, which is also simplified to 签 but means to sign, as in 簽名 (qiānmíng, to sign one's name) and 簽證 (qiānzhèng, visa). In traditional writing, sticks and tags take 籤, while signing and visas take 簽.
Common words with 籤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 籤
How many strokes are in 籤?
籤 is written with 23 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 籤 mean?
籤 (qiān) means label, marker, tag; signature; visa. A common word with it is 标签 (biāoqiān), meaning "label; tag".
How do you pronounce 籤?
籤 is pronounced qiān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 籤?
The radical of 籤 is ⺮, which carries the idea of "bamboo". Dictionaries list 籤 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 籤?
籤 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 签, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is 求籤 at a Chinese temple?
求籤 (qiúqiān) means shaking a cup of numbered bamboo sticks until one falls out, then reading the matching fortune poem. The stick itself is the 籤, and the paper fortune is often called 籤詩 (qiānshī).
Can 籤 mean a skewer for food?
Yes, since it means a thin stick, it shows up in food words. For example, 竹籤 (zhúqiān) is a bamboo skewer used for grilled meat or snacks.