Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

green (blue; black)

Chinese: 青色、年轻或青草。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “qing” becomes a different word in each tone. 青 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

  • 青年qīng niányouth; youthful years; young person; the young
  • 青少年qīng shào niánadolescent; youth; teenager
  • 青春qīng chūnyouth; youthfulness
  • 青春期qīng chūn qīpuberty; adolescence
  • 青蛙qīng wāfrog (; (old) (slang) ugly guy

Example Sentence

青青的草地上开着小花。Qīng qīng de cǎo dì shàng kāi zhe xiǎo huā.Little flowers bloom on the green grass.

Qīngshort name for Qinghai 青海qīngshort name for Qinghai 青海deof草地cǎo dìlawnshàngonkāito open (transitive or intzhe(ongoing action)小花xiǎo huā(coll.) popular young actr

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

Growth (the 生 element on top) over a mineral well below: the fresh blue-green of growing plants and clear sky. It means ‘blue-green / verdant’ and is the sound part of 清, 请, 情, 晴.

A way to remember it

The colour of new growth — blue-green.

Easy to confuse with

  • qīng‘Clear’: 青 with the water radical 氵 added.