颖 meaning and stroke order
Rice tassel; sharp; clever
How to write 颖, 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 颖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- head of grain
- husk
- tip
- point
- clever
- gifted
How 颖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Rice.
禾 gives the meaning and 匕 hints at the sound.
Radical: 页 (page), shared by 39 characters on this site.
How to remember 颖
Picture a stalk of grain 禾 with a sharp spoon-like tip 匕 on top, standing next to a head 页. The pointed tip of the grain sticking out is like a sharp, clever head standing out from the crowd.
颖 (yǐng) rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears mostly in set words like 新颖 (xīnyǐng, novel, original) and 聪颖 (cōngyǐng, bright, intelligent), and it is common in given names. Example: 这个设计很新颖。(Zhège shèjì hěn xīnyǐng.) This design is very original.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 颖 with 频 (pín, frequent) or 顷 (qǐng), since all have 页 on the right; check for 匕 over 禾 on the left. Also keep the third tone yǐng, not yíng as in 赢 (yíng, to win).
Common words with 颖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
颖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 颖
How many strokes are in 颖?
颖 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 颖 mean?
颖 (yǐng) means rice tassel; sharp; clever. A common word with it is 脱颖而出 (tuōyǐng'érchū), meaning "to reveal one's talent (idiom); to rise above others; to distinguish oneself".
How do you pronounce 颖?
颖 is pronounced yǐng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 颖?
The radical of 颖 is 页, which carries the idea of "page". Dictionaries list 颖 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 颖?
The traditional form of 颖 is 穎. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 颖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 颖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 颖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 脱颖而出 literally mean?
It literally describes the tip of an awl poking out through a cloth bag, with 颖 meaning the sharp point. Today it means someone's talent shows and they stand out from others, as in 他在比赛中脱颖而出 (tā zài bǐsài zhōng tuōyǐng'érchū), he stood out in the competition.
Is 颖 a good character for a Chinese name?
Yes. 颖 is popular in names, especially for girls, because it suggests cleverness and talent. You will often see names like 李颖 (Lǐ Yǐng) or 颖慧 (Yǐnghuì).