印 (yìn) is a Chinese character meaning “a seal or stamp”. It is written from 𠂎 (sideways pressing hand (left-side form of the claw/hand component)) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to print; a stamped mark”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𠂎 + 卩
Left–right structure
- 𠂎 sideways pressing hand (left-side form of the claw/hand component) meaning
- 卩 kneeling person; seal (tally) · jié meaning
Structure from: Unicode U+5370; 现代字形拆分候选，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（第 1–3 笔构成左侧手形，第 4–5 笔为右侧「卩」）
Memory aid
A hand turned on its side and pressed flat (𠂎), right next to a person kneeling down (卩). Someone is leaning in to press a seal onto the page — that stamped mark is 印.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 打印dǎ yìnto print (a document)印 = yìnHSK 3
- 手印shǒu yìnhandprint; fingerprint印 = yìn
- 拇印mǔ yìnthumbprint印 = yìn
- 印刷yìn shuāto print; printing印 = yìn
- 印象yìn xiàngimpression印 = yìn
- 烙印lào yìnbrand; lasting mark印 = yìn
Go deeper
All readings
to print; seal; mark
a seal or stamp; a mark left by pressing; to print
图章；按压留下的痕迹；也指把文字图像印在纸上。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 打印dǎ yìnto print (a document)印 = yìnHSK 3
- 手印shǒu yìnhandprint; fingerprint印 = yìn
- 拇印mǔ yìnthumbprint印 = yìn
- 印刷yìn shuāto print; printing印 = yìn
- 印象yìn xiàngimpression印 = yìn
- 烙印lào yìnbrand; lasting mark印 = yìn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 印 mean?
印 (yìn) means a seal or stamp; a mark left by pressing; to print.
How do you pronounce 印?
It is pronounced yìn.
What parts is 印 made of?
𠂎 (sideways pressing hand (left-side form of the claw/hand component)) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+5370; 现代字形拆分候选，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（第 1–3 笔构成左侧手形，第 4–5 笔为右侧「卩」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 印 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 印?
卩. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 印?
Common ones are 打印 and 手印. The reading of 印 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.