琴 (qín) is a Chinese character meaning “a Chinese zither (guqin)”. It is written from 玨 (a pair of jades) and 今 (now; the present), one above the other, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “zither; stringed instrument”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
玨 + 今
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿱玨今) checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–7 / 8–11
Memory aid
Two jades side by side (玨) sit on top of 今 "now": picture a zither with jade pegs, ready to be played right now.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 钢琴gāng qínpiano琴 = qín
- 弹钢琴tán gāng qínto play the piano琴 = qín
- 琴弦qín xiánstring of a musical instrument琴 = qín
Go deeper
All readings
zither; stringed instrument
a Chinese zither (guqin); general term for certain musical instruments, e.g. piano, violin
古琴；也泛指某些乐器，如钢琴、小提琴。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 钢琴gāng qínpiano琴 = qín
- 弹钢琴tán gāng qínto play the piano琴 = qín
- 琴弦qín xiánstring of a musical instrument琴 = qín
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 琴 mean?
琴 (qín) means a Chinese zither (guqin); general term for certain musical instruments, e.g. piano, violin.
How do you pronounce 琴?
It is pronounced qín.
What parts is 琴 made of?
玨 (a pair of jades) and 今 (now; the present), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids ⿱玨今) checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–7 / 8–11. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 琴 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 琴?
王. 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 琴?
Common ones are 钢琴, 弹钢琴, 琴弦. The reading of 琴 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.