泉 (quán) is a Chinese character meaning “a spring”. It is written from 白 (white; plain) and 水 (water), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “spring; water coming out of the ground”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
白 + 水
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿱白水，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–4 与「白」逐笔对应（5 画），笔画 5–8 与「水」逐笔对应（4 画），5+4=9 画。说文解字·泉部：泉，水原也，象水流出成川形 —— 上部在古文字中并非「白」，此处只作现代字形拆分，不作字源。
Memory aid
Clear white (白) water (水) pushing up out of the ground: a spring. Both parts really are in the modern character — but this is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 泉水quán shuǐspring water泉 = quán
- 山泉shān quánmountain spring泉 = quán
- 矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐmineral water泉 = quánHSK 4
Go deeper
All readings
spring; fountain
a spring; water flowing out from underground; a fountainhead
从地下流出来的水；水源。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 泉水quán shuǐspring water泉 = quán
- 山泉shān quánmountain spring泉 = quán
- 矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐmineral water泉 = quánHSK 4
Origin
The Shuowen Jiezi defines 泉 as "the source of water" and describes it as a picture of water flowing out and forming a stream. In the old forms the top is the mouth of the spring, not the character 白 — the modern shape only looks like 白 after centuries of simplification of the drawing.
Source: 说文解字·泉部：泉，水原也。象水流出成川形
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 泉 mean?
泉 (quán) means a spring; water flowing out from underground; a fountainhead.
How do you pronounce 泉?
It is pronounced quán.
What parts is 泉 made of?
白 (white; plain) and 水 (water), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿱白水，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–4 与「白」逐笔对应（5 画），笔画 5–8 与「水」逐笔对应（4 画），5+4=9 画。说文解字·泉部：泉，水原也，象水流出成川形 —— 上部在古文字中并非「白」，此处只作现代字形拆分，不作字源。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 泉 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 泉?
水. 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 泉?
Common ones are 泉水 and 山泉. The reading of 泉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.