萍 meaning and stroke order
Duckweed; to travel, to wander
How to write 萍, stroke by stroke
11 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
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 萍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) duckweed
How 萍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 泙 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 萍
萍 has grass 艹 on top of 泙 (píng), which gives the sound. Picture a small grass-like plant floating on the water of 泙, and you have duckweed.
萍 (píng) is a bound form, so it rarely appears alone and usually shows up in set phrases or names. Because duckweed drifts on water with no fixed place, it suggests wandering and chance meetings. Example: 我们萍水相逢。(Wǒmen píngshuǐ xiāngféng.) We met by chance as strangers.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 萍 with 苹 (píng) as in 苹果 (píngguǒ, apple), since both have 艹 on top and the same pronunciation. Remember that 萍 has the water radical 氵 inside, which fits a plant that floats on water.
Common words with 萍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 萍水相逢 | píngshuǐ-xiāngféng | strangers coming together by chance (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
萍 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 萍
How many strokes are in 萍?
萍 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 萍 mean?
萍 (píng) means duckweed; to travel, to wander. A common word with it is 萍水相逢 (píngshuǐ-xiāngféng), meaning "strangers coming together by chance (idiom)".
How do you pronounce 萍?
萍 is pronounced píng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 萍?
The radical of 萍 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 萍 under this radical.
Is 萍 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 萍 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 萍水相逢 literally mean?
It literally means duckweed and water meeting each other. Duckweed drifts across the water by chance, so the idiom describes strangers who meet by chance, often briefly.
Is 萍 used in Chinese names?
Yes. 萍 (píng) is fairly common in given names, especially for women, such as 小萍 (Xiǎo Píng). In names it carries a light, graceful image rather than the sense of wandering.