青 meaning and stroke order
Green; blue; black
How to write 青, stroke by stroke
8 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
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- 4
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- 8
Meaning of 青
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- green
- blue
- black
- youth
- young (of people)
How 青 is built
Components of the character.
How to remember 青
青 (qīng) stacks 龶, which looks like a sprouting plant, on top of 月, which looks like the moon. Picture fresh green shoots growing under the moonlight, full of young life, and you have both meanings: green and young.
青 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in words about youth like 青年 (qīngnián) and 青春 (qīngchūn), or in color words for nature. Example: 他是一个有理想的青年。(Tā shì yí gè yǒu lǐxiǎng de qīngnián.) He is a young man with ideals.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 年青 (niánqīng) with the far more common 年轻 (niánqīng), which uses 轻 (light). For describing someone as young, 年轻 is the standard choice, and 年青 is much less common. Also watch the bottom part: it is 月, not 日, so do not write it as 晴 missing a side.
Common words with 青
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 青年 | qīngnián | youth; youthful years | HSK 2 |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth | HSK 2 |
| 青春 | qīngchūn | youth; youthfulness | HSK 4 |
| 青蛙 | qīngwā | frog (CL:隻|只[zhi1]); (old) (slang) ugly guy | HSK 7-9 |
| 青春期 | qīngchūnqī | puberty; adolescence | HSK 7-9 |
| 万古长青 | wàngǔ-chángqīng | (idiom) enduring through the ages; ever-flourishing | HSK 7-9 |
| 刺青 | cìqīng | to tattoo; a tattoo | |
| 年青 | niánqīng | youthful | |
| 青睐 | qīnglài | (literary) (lit.) to fix one's gaze on; (fig.) to show interest in; (favorable) attention; | |
| 青梅竹马 | qīngméizhúmǎ | lit. green plums and hobby-horse (idiom); fig. innocent children's games | |
| 青椒 | qīngjiāo | Capsicum annuum; green pepper | |
| 淤青 | yūqīng | bruise; contusion | |
| 青铜 | qīngtóng | bronze (alloy of copper 銅|铜 and tin 錫|锡[xi1]) | |
| 青山 | Qīngshān | green hills; (the good) life |
青 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 青
Learning 青 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 青
How many strokes are in 青?
青 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 青 mean?
青 (qīng) means green; blue; black. A common word with it is 青年 (qīngnián), meaning "youth; youthful years".
How do you pronounce 青?
青 is pronounced qīng, in the first tone (high and level).
Is 青 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 青 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.
Is 青 blue or green?
It can be either, and sometimes black, depending on the word. In 青草 (qīngcǎo, green grass) it is green, in 青天 (qīngtiān, blue sky) it is blue, and in 青丝 (qīngsī, black hair, literary) it is black. Think of it as the color of nature rather than one fixed shade.
Why do so many characters contain 青?
青 often acts as a sound component, giving a qing or jing sound. You can see it in 清 (qīng, clear), 请 (qǐng, please), 情 (qíng, feeling), 晴 (qíng, sunny) and 精 (jīng, essence). Spotting 青 can help you guess the pronunciation of a new character.