Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

today; modern; present; current; this; now

Chinese: 现在、今天。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “jin” becomes a different word in each tone. 今 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 今天jīn tiāntoday; the present time; now
  • 今年jīn niánthis year
  • 今后jīn hòuhereafter; henceforth; in the future; from now on
  • 至今zhì jīnso far; to this day; until now
  • 如今rú jīnnowadays; now

Example Sentence

今天是个特别的日子。Jīn tiān shì ge tè bié de rì zi.Today is a special day.

今天Jīn tiāntodayshìisge(measure word)特别tè biéunusualdeof日子rì ziday

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

An old graph close to 亼 (a cover): ‘the present, now, today, this (time)’ (今天, 现在, 至今). It is the opposite of 古 (ancient).

A way to remember it

‘Now / today / this’: 今天 (today), 今年 (this year).

Easy to confuse with

  • lìng‘Order’: a similar 人-top, but with an extra stroke below.