翠 meaning and stroke order
Kingfisher; jade, emerald
How to write 翠, stroke by stroke
14 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 翠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bluish-green
- green jade
How 翠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wings.
羽 gives the meaning and 卒 hints at the sound.
Radical: 羽 (feather), shared by 26 characters on this site.
How to remember 翠
Feathers 羽 (yǔ) sit on top of 卒 (zú), which gives the sound. Picture a kingfisher's bright blue-green feathers, the color that 翠 (cuì) came to mean.
翠 (cuì) is mostly used in written or descriptive Chinese for a vivid blue-green color and for jade. It usually appears in words like 翠绿 (cuìlǜ) and 翡翠 (fěicuì). Example: 山上的树一片翠绿。(Shān shàng de shù yí piàn cuìlǜ.) The trees on the mountain are a stretch of emerald green.
Common mistake: Learners often read the bottom part 卒 as the sound zú and say zuì or zú. The correct reading is cuì, with an aspirated c and a fourth tone. Also do not confuse 翠 with 萃 (cuì), which has the grass radical 艹 on top and means to gather.
Common words with 翠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 翠绿 | cuìlǜ | greenish-blue; emerald green | HSK 7-9 |
| 翡翠 | fěicuì | jadeite; tree kingfisher |
翠 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 翠
How many strokes are in 翠?
翠 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 翠 mean?
翠 (cuì) means kingfisher; jade, emerald. A common word with it is 翠绿 (cuìlǜ), meaning "greenish-blue; emerald green".
How do you pronounce 翠?
翠 is pronounced cuì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 翠?
The radical of 翠 is 羽, which carries the idea of "feather". Dictionaries list 翠 under this radical.
Is 翠 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 翠 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 翡 and 翠 in 翡翠?
In 翡翠 (fěicuì), 翡 (fěi) was traditionally linked to red and 翠 (cuì) to green, both from kingfisher feathers. Today the word as a whole simply means jadeite, and 翠 alone can also refer to green jade.
Is 翠 used in names?
Yes. 翠 (cuì) appears in Chinese given names, especially women's names, such as 翠花 (Cuìhuā) or 小翠 (Xiǎo Cuì). It suggests freshness and the beauty of green jade, though some combinations now sound old-fashioned.