锦 meaning and stroke order
Brocade, tapestry; embroidered
How to write 锦, 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 锦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- brocade
- embroidered work
- bright
How 锦 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Silk 帛 inlaid with gold 钅; 钅 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 钅 (gold), shared by 223 characters on this site.
How to remember 锦
Picture silk cloth 帛 (bó) woven with threads of gold 钅. Silk with gold in it is fancy brocade, which is what 锦 (jǐn) means.
锦 (jǐn) rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears in words like 锦标赛 (jǐnbiāosài, championships), 锦旗 (jǐnqí, silk banner) and 什锦 (shíjǐn, assorted), and in idioms suggesting beauty or splendor. Example: 我们去看乒乓球锦标赛。 (Wǒmen qù kàn pīngpāngqiú jǐnbiāosài.) We are going to watch the table tennis championships.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 白 plus 巾 squeezed wrong or swap in 棉 (mián, cotton), which has 木 on the left instead of 钅. Remember that brocade has gold 钅, while cotton grows on a plant 木.
Common words with 锦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
锦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 锦
How many strokes are in 锦?
锦 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 锦 mean?
锦 (jǐn) means brocade, tapestry; embroidered. A common word with it is 锦旗 (jǐnqí), meaning "silk banner (as an award or gift)".
How do you pronounce 锦?
锦 is pronounced jǐn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 锦?
The radical of 锦 is 钅, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 锦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 锦?
The traditional form of 锦 is 錦. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 锦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 锦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 锦 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does the idiom 锦上添花 mean?
锦上添花 (jǐn shàng tiān huā) literally means adding flowers to brocade. It describes making something good even better.
Why is 什锦 used on menus?
什锦 (shíjǐn) means an assortment of many things, like colorful brocade. On menus it marks mixed dishes, such as 什锦炒饭 (shíjǐn chǎofàn), assorted fried rice.