Meaning of 王
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- king or monarch
- best or strongest of its type
- grand
- great
- surname Wang
- (literary) (of a monarch) to reign over (a kingdom)
How to use 王
王 means king, and it appears in words like 国王 (guówáng, king) and 王子 (wángzǐ, prince). It is also one of the most common surnames in China, often used casually as 老王 (Lǎo Wáng) or 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng). Example: 他是这个国家的国王。(Tā shì zhège guójiā de guówáng.) He is the king of this country.
王 (wáng) looks like three horizontal lines joined by one vertical stroke. Picture the king as the one line that connects heaven, people, and earth.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 王 (wáng) with 玉 (yù, jade), which has an extra dot, and with 主 (zhǔ, master), which has a dot on top. Also keep the middle horizontal stroke shorter than the bottom one.
王 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.
王 wáng · king or monarch · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 王.
| 老王 | Lǎo Wáng | |
| 小王 | Xiǎo Wáng | |
| 国王 | guówáng | king |
| 王子 | wángzǐ | prince; son of a king |
| 王后 | wánghòu | queen |
| 王国 | wángguó | kingdom; realm |
| 王牌 | wángpái | (card games) trump card; (fig.) ace; star player; top performer; best asset; secret weapon |
| 阎王 | Yánwang | (Buddhism) Yama, the King of Hell; (fig.) cruel and tyrannical person |
| 女王 | nǚwáng | queen |
| 王八蛋 | wángbādàn | bastard; son of a bitch |
| 大王 | dàwáng | king; magnate |
| 王位 | wángwèi | title of king; kingship |
Questions about 王
What does 王 mean?
王 (wáng) means "king or monarch; best or strongest of its type" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 王?
王 is made of 1 character: 王 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 王 an HSK word?
Yes. 王 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 老王 and 小王?
Both are friendly ways to address someone surnamed Wang. 老王 (Lǎo Wáng) is used for someone older or a peer you know well, and 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) is used for someone younger, such as a junior colleague.
Why does 王 sometimes appear as a component meaning jade?
When 王 appears on the left side of characters like 玩 (wán) or 球 (qiú), it is usually a squeezed form of 玉 (yù, jade), not the word king. That is why many characters with this side part relate to jade or precious things.