吝 (lìn) is a Chinese character meaning “stingy”. It is written from 文 (writing; script; culture) and 口 (mouth), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “stingy”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
文 + 口
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字·口部: 吝，恨惜也。从口文聲
Memory aid
Writing (文) stacked on top of a mouth (口): plenty of fine words come out, but nothing else ever does. That is a stingy person.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 吝啬lìn sèstingy; miserly吝 = lìn
- 吝惜lìn xīto grudge; to stint; to be unwilling to give up吝 = lìn
Go deeper
All readings
stingy
stingy; grudging; unwilling to give or spend
过分爱惜自己的财物，舍不得给别人或拿出来用。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吝啬lìn sèstingy; miserly吝 = lìn
- 吝惜lìn xīto grudge; to stint; to be unwilling to give up吝 = lìn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吝 mean?
吝 (lìn) means stingy; grudging; unwilling to give or spend.
How do you pronounce 吝?
It is pronounced lìn.
What parts is 吝 made of?
文 (writing; script; culture) and 口 (mouth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字·口部: 吝，恨惜也。从口文聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吝 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吝?
口. 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 吝?
Common ones are 吝啬 and 吝惜. The reading of 吝 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.