铅 (qiān) is a Chinese character meaning “lead (the metal, Pb)”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 㕣 (marsh; sound part of 沿, 铅, 船), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “lead (the metal)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
钅 + 㕣
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「鉛，青金也。从金㕣聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰钅㕣，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–4 为「钅」，笔画 5–9 为「㕣」（5+5=10画）
Memory aid
Metal (钅) on the left, 㕣 on the right — a soft, heavy metal whose name lives on in the pencil (铅笔): lead.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 铅笔qiān bǐpencil铅 = qiān
- 铅球qiān qiúshot put (the sport or the heavy ball)铅 = qiān
Go deeper
All readings
lead (metal)
lead (the metal, Pb); pencil lead
金属元素铅；也指铅笔芯。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 铅笔qiān bǐpencil铅 = qiān
- 铅球qiān qiúshot put (the sport or the heavy ball)铅 = qiān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 铅 mean?
铅 (qiān) means lead (the metal, Pb); pencil lead.
How do you pronounce 铅?
It is pronounced qiān.
What parts is 铅 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 㕣 (marsh; sound part of 沿, 铅, 船), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「鉛，青金也。从金㕣聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰钅㕣，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–4 为「钅」，笔画 5–9 为「㕣」（5+5=10画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 铅 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 铅?
钅. 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 铅?
Common ones are 铅笔 and 铅球. The reading of 铅 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.