琴 meaning in English
guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither); musical instrument in general
Meaning of 琴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither)
- musical instrument in general
- variant of 琴[qin2], guqin or zither
How to use 琴
On its own, 琴 usually means the guqin or a stringed instrument in general, but in daily speech it mostly appears inside instrument names like 钢琴 (gāngqín, piano), 小提琴 (xiǎotíqín, violin) and 口琴 (kǒuqín, harmonica). Example: 她每天弹钢琴。 (Tā měitiān tán gāngqín.) She plays the piano every day.
The top of 琴 (qín) looks like two 王 side by side, which you can picture as the bridges and strings of a zither seen from above. Underneath is 今 (jīn), which also hints at the sound of the character.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom part as 令 (lìng) instead of 今 (jīn), adding an extra dot stroke. Also keep the rising second tone: qín, not qīn like 亲 (qīn, relative).
琴 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.
琴 qín · guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 琴.
| 钢琴 | gāngqín | piano |
| 小提琴 | xiǎotíqín | fiddle; violin |
| 大提琴 | dàtíqín | cello (CL:把[ba3]) |
| 弹琴 | tánqín | to play or strum a lute or other stringed instrument |
| 钢琴家 | gāngqínjiā | pianist |
| 口琴 | kǒuqín | harmonica |
| 手风琴 | shǒufēngqín | accordion |
| 竖琴 | shùqín | harp |
| 琴酒 | qínjiǔ | gin (Taiwan variant of 金酒[jin1 jiu3]) |
| 风琴 | fēngqín | pipe organ (musical instrument) |
| 小提琴手 | xiǎotíqínshǒu | violinist; fiddler |
| 钢琴师 | gāngqínshī | pianist |
Questions about 琴
What does 琴 mean?
琴 (qín) means "guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither); musical instrument in general" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 琴?
琴 is made of 1 character: 琴 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 琴 an HSK word?
Yes. 琴 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Which verb do I use with 琴 instruments?
Use 弹 (tán) for instruments you pluck or press, like 弹钢琴 (tán gāngqín) and 弹琴 (tánqín). For bowed instruments use 拉 (lā), as in 拉小提琴 (lā xiǎotíqín). For the harmonica use 吹 (chuī), as in 吹口琴 (chuī kǒuqín).
What is the difference between 琴 and 古琴?
古琴 (gǔqín) specifically names the traditional seven-string Chinese zither. 琴 alone can mean that zither, especially in older or literary texts, but it can also refer to musical instruments in general.