钱 (qián) is a Chinese character meaning “money”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 戋 (tiny, small amount; the sound part of 浅, 钱, 线), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “money”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
钅 + 戋
Left–right structure
- 钅 metal radical (left-side form of 金) · jīn meaning
- 戋 tiny, small amount; the sound part of 浅, 钱, 线 · jiān sound
Structure from: 说文解字「錢…从金戔聲」；现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 戋 5 画 = 10 画
Memory aid
钅 on the left is the metal radical. 戋 on the right means something tiny, a small amount. Small pieces of metal you carry around: coins — money.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 钱包qián bāowallet; purse钱 = qián
- 有钱yǒu qiánrich; wealthy钱 = qián
- 挣钱zhèng qiánto earn money; to make money钱 = qián
- 掏钱tāo qiánto pay (out of one’s own pocket)钱 = qián
- 省钱shěng qiánto save money钱 = qián
Go deeper
All readings
money
money; coin; cash; a surname
货币；钱财。也用作姓。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 钱包qián bāowallet; purse钱 = qián
- 有钱yǒu qiánrich; wealthy钱 = qián
- 挣钱zhèng qiánto earn money; to make money钱 = qián
- 掏钱tāo qiánto pay (out of one’s own pocket)钱 = qián
- 省钱shěng qiánto save money钱 = qián
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 钱 mean?
钱 (qián) means money; coin; cash; a surname.
How do you pronounce 钱?
It is pronounced qián.
What parts is 钱 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 戋 (tiny, small amount; the sound part of 浅, 钱, 线), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「錢…从金戔聲」；现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 戋 5 画 = 10 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 钱 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 钱?
金. 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 钱?
Common ones are 钱包 and 有钱. The reading of 钱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.