春 (chūn) is a Chinese character meaning “spring (the season)”. It is written from 𡗗 (the "spring top": three lines crossed by a long left sweep and a right sweep, seen on top of 春, 奉 and 奏) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “spring”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𡗗 + 日
Top–bottom structure
- 𡗗 the "spring top": three lines crossed by a long left sweep and a right sweep, seen on top of 春, 奉 and 奏 unknown
- 日 sun; day · rì meaning
Structure from: studyhanzi 构形核验（现代字形，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺分组：前 5 笔为春字头，后 4 笔为日）
Memory aid
The spring top (𡗗) spreads out like branches over the sun (日) below — sunlight breaking through: spring.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 春节chūn jiéSpring Festival; Chinese New Year春 = chūn
- 春卷chūn juǎnspring roll春 = chūn
- 春笋chūn sǔnspring bamboo shoots春 = chūn
Go deeper
All readings
spring
spring (the season); springtime; vitality
一年四季中的第一季；也比喻生机、活力。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 春节chūn jiéSpring Festival; Chinese New Year春 = chūn
- 春卷chūn juǎnspring roll春 = chūn
- 春笋chūn sǔnspring bamboo shoots春 = chūn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 春 mean?
春 (chūn) means spring (the season); springtime; vitality.
How do you pronounce 春?
It is pronounced chūn.
What parts is 春 made of?
𡗗 (the "spring top": three lines crossed by a long left sweep and a right sweep, seen on top of 春, 奉 and 奏) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 构形核验（现代字形，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺分组：前 5 笔为春字头，后 4 笔为日）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 春 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 春?
日. 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 春?
Common ones are 春节 and 春卷. The reading of 春 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.