秦 (qín) is a Chinese character meaning “Qin, the ancient state and the dynasty (221–207 BC) that”. 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 禾 (grain; standing grain), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “Qin (dynasty)”
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Structure
𡗗 + 禾
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
- 禾 grain; standing grain · hé 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 5 笔为禾；说文：秦，从禾）
Memory aid
The spring top (𡗗) spreads over a stalk of grain (禾) — picture the grain fields of the ancient state of Qin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 秦朝qín cháothe Qin dynasty (221–207 BC)秦 = qín
- 先秦xiān qínpre-Qin (the period before the Qin dynasty)秦 = qín
Go deeper
All readings
Qin (state and dynasty); a surname
Qin, the ancient state and the dynasty (221–207 BC) that first unified China; a surname; short name for Shaanxi
周代诸侯国名；秦朝，中国第一个统一的王朝；姓；陕西的别称。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 秦朝qín cháothe Qin dynasty (221–207 BC)秦 = qín
- 先秦xiān qínpre-Qin (the period before the Qin dynasty)秦 = qín
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 秦 mean?
秦 (qín) means Qin, the ancient state and the dynasty (221–207 BC) that first unified China; a surname; short name for Shaanxi.
How do you pronounce 秦?
It is pronounced qín.
What parts is 秦 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 禾 (grain; standing grain), 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 5 笔为禾；说文：秦，从禾）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 秦 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 秦?
禾. 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 秦?
Common ones are 秦朝 and 先秦. The reading of 秦 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.