Meaning of 江
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- river
Measure word: 條|条,道
- surname Jiang
- (bound form) Yangtze River
- (bound form) Jiangsu Province (abbr. for 江蘇|江苏[Jiang1 su1])
How to use 江
江 means a large river and appears in many river names, such as 长江 (Chángjiāng), the Yangtze. It also shows up as a surname and as a short form for Jiangsu, as in 江浙 (Jiāng Zhè). Example: 这条江很宽。(Zhè tiáo jiāng hěn kuān.) This river is very wide.
江 is built from the water radical 氵 on the left and 工 (gōng) on the right. Picture three drops of water flowing past a work beam 工 to remember that 江 means a big river, with 工 hinting at the sound.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 江 (jiāng) with 河 (hé). Both mean river, but you cannot freely swap them in names. The Yellow River is always 黄河 (Huánghé), never 黄江, and the Yangtze is always 长江 (Chángjiāng).
江 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
江 jiāng · river · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 江.
| 江湖 | jiānghú | rivers and lakes; all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat |
| 江山 | Jiāngshān | rivers and mountains; landscape |
Questions about 江
What does 江 mean?
江 (jiāng) means "river" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 江?
江 is made of 1 character: 江 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 江 an HSK word?
Yes. 江 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 江 and 河?
Both mean river. Traditionally 江 was used for rivers in southern China and 河 for rivers in the north. In everyday speech 河 is the more general word, while 江 sounds bigger or appears mainly in fixed names.
What does 江湖 (jiānghú) mean beyond rivers and lakes?
江湖 often refers to the wider world outside official society, like the world of wandering martial artists in wuxia stories. People also use it for the rough, informal world of street life and personal connections.