遣 meaning and stroke order
To send, to dispatch; to exile, to send off
How to write 遣, stroke by stroke
13 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 遣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to dispatch; to send
- (bound form) to drive away; to dispel
How 遣 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 遣
The walking radical 辶 carries a stacked bundle on top (中, 一 and 㠯), like someone loading up a package and sending a messenger off on foot with it. Walking plus sending away gives 遣 (qiǎn), to dispatch.
遣 is a bound form, so it appears inside words like 派遣 (pàiqiǎn, to dispatch), 遣返 (qiǎnfǎn, to repatriate) and 消遣 (xiāoqiǎn, amusement). Example: 公司派遣他去上海工作。(Gōngsī pàiqiǎn tā qù Shànghǎi gōngzuò.) The company sent him to work in Shanghai.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 遣 (qiǎn) with 遗 (yí, to leave behind), since both sit on 辶 and have busy tops. 遗 has 贵 inside, while 遣 has 中, 一 and 㠯 stacked together.
Common words with 遣
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
遣 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 遣
Learning 遣 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 遣
How many strokes are in 遣?
遣 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 遣 mean?
遣 (qiǎn) means to send, to dispatch; to exile, to send off. A common word with it is 派遣 (pàiqiǎn), meaning "to send (on a mission); to dispatch".
How do you pronounce 遣?
遣 is pronounced qiǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 遣?
The radical of 遣 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 遣 under this radical.
Is 遣 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 遣 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I use 遣 alone to mean 'send', like 送 or 寄?
Not in everyday speech. 遣 is a bound form, so you say 派遣 or 差遣 for people and 送 or 寄 for things. Using 遣 alone sounds classical.
Why does 消遣 mean amusement if 遣 means to send?
Here 遣 has its other sense of driving away or dispelling. 消遣 literally means to dispel boredom, so it came to mean passing the time or a pastime, as in 看书是我的消遣 (kàn shū shì wǒ de xiāoqiǎn), reading is my pastime.