轻 meaning and stroke order
Light; easy; gentle
How to write 轻, stroke by stroke
9 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
Meaning of 轻
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- light
- easy
- gentle
- soft
- reckless
- unimportant
How 轻 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Cart.
车 gives the meaning and 工 hints at the sound.
Radical: 车 (cart), shared by 50 characters on this site.
How to remember 轻
轻 has 车 (chē, cart) on the left, with 又 over 工 on the right, and 工 hints at the sound. Picture a cart so light that one hand (又) can push it with almost no work (工).
轻 describes low weight, a soft touch, or something easy or unimportant. It appears in very common words like 年轻 (niánqīng, young) and 轻松 (qīngsōng, relaxed). Example: 这个包很轻。(Zhège bāo hěn qīng.) This bag is very light.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 轻 with 经 (jīng), which has the same right side but uses 纟 instead of 车. Also keep the first tone in qīng, and do not mix it up with 青 (qīng, blue-green) or 清 (qīng, clear), which sound the same.
Common words with 轻
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 年轻 | niánqīng | young | HSK 2 |
| 轻松 | qīngsōng | light; gentle | HSK 4 |
| 轻易 | qīngyì | easy; simple; rashly; offhandedly | HSK 4 |
| 减轻 | jiǎnqīng | to lighten; to ease | HSK 5 |
| 轻微 | qīngwēi | slight; light | HSK 7-9 |
| 轻而易举 | qīng'éryìjǔ | easy; with no difficulty | HSK 7-9 |
| 无足轻重 | wúzú-qīngzhòng | insignificant | HSK 7-9 |
| 轻蔑 | qīngmiè | scornful; disdainful; contemptuous; pejorative; disdain; contempt | HSK 7-9 |
| 轻型 | qīngxíng | light (machinery, aircraft etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 年轻人 | niánqīngrén | young people; youngster | |
| 轻轻 | qīngqīng | lightly; softly | |
| 轻举妄动 | qīngjǔwàngdòng | to act blindly without thinking (idiom) | |
| 轻视 | qīngshì | contempt; contemptuous | |
| 轻率 | qīngshuài | cavalier; offhand |
轻 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 轻
How many strokes are in 轻?
轻 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 轻 mean?
轻 (qīng) means light; easy; gentle. A common word with it is 年轻 (niánqīng), meaning "young".
How do you pronounce 轻?
轻 is pronounced qīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 轻?
The radical of 轻 is 车, which carries the idea of "cart". Dictionaries list 轻 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 轻?
The traditional form of 轻 is 輕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 轻 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 轻 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 轻 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do I say "lightly" or "gently" with 轻?
Use 轻轻 (qīngqīng) before a verb, often with 地. For example, 轻轻地关门 (qīngqīng de guān mén) means to close the door gently.
Does 轻 have a negative meaning?
Yes, in some words it means careless or looking down on something. 轻易 (qīngyì) can mean rashly, and 轻蔑 (qīngmiè) means scornful.