尘 (chén) is a Chinese character meaning “dust”. It is written from 小 (small) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “dust”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
小 + 土
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph IDS ⿱小土（对照 hanzi-writer-data 6 笔：小 3 笔 + 土 3 笔核验）
Memory aid
Small (小) pieces of earth (土) — earth ground so small it floats in the air. That is dust.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 灰尘huī chéndust尘 = chén
- 尘土chén tǔdust; dirt尘 = chén
- 尘埃chén āidust尘 = chén
Go deeper
All readings
dust
dust; dirt; the dusty world of everyday life
飞扬或积落的细小土粒；也指人间、世俗。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 灰尘huī chéndust尘 = chén
- 尘土chén tǔdust; dirt尘 = chén
- 尘埃chén āidust尘 = chén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 尘 mean?
尘 (chén) means dust; dirt; the dusty world of everyday life.
How do you pronounce 尘?
It is pronounced chén.
What parts is 尘 made of?
小 (small) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph IDS ⿱小土（对照 hanzi-writer-data 6 笔：小 3 笔 + 土 3 笔核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 尘 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 尘?
小. 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 尘?
Common ones are 灰尘 and 尘土. The reading of 尘 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.