Character: 钱 (qián) money

钱 (qián) means money, the character is visualized as an anvil next to a coin purse

Pinyin qián
Meaning money; unit of weight (around 3 grams)
Radical 钅（金） 繁體字 錢
n/a

writing patterns, not components

Chinese character phono-semantic compoundcategory: phono-semantic compound

Chinese character left right structurestructure: left right

10stroke count

HSK 1

Stroke order of the Chinese character 钱 (qián) money. There are 10 strokes, and the character is written from left to right, and top to bottom

Breakdown

钱 (qián) is a phono-semantic compound character that originally referred to a kind of farm tool, but it later switched to mean “money.” It has 金 (jīn) “gold” serving as its radical, which appears in the form of 钅. It stands for metal here, and it indicates the material of the object. The other component is 戋 (jiān) “tiny,” which plays a phonetic role.

qián
钱
money		 钅
gole		 cuò
错
wrong		 tiě
铁
iron
jiān
戋
tiny		 qiǎn
浅
shallow		 jiàn
贱
lowly

Used as a morpheme/word

Wordlist

  • HSK 1: 钱 (qián) money
  • HSK 4: 零钱 (língqián) change (of money)
  • HSK 6: 本钱 (běnqián) capital (finance)
  • HSK 6: 压岁钱 (yāsuìqián) money given to children as new year present
  • Intermediate: 工钱 (gōngqián) salary

How to pronounce

First, say chee, as in “cheese,” with unrounded lips, then finish with “yen.”

2nd Pinyin Yale IPA
Initial q- ch [tɕʰ]
Final -ian yan [ɪɛn]

Chinese character practice sheet

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