珍 (zhēn) is a Chinese character meaning “precious”. It is written from 王 (king) and 㐱 (rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “precious; treasure”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 㐱
Left–right structure
- 王 king · wáng meaning
- 㐱 rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹 · zhěn sound
Structure from: 说文解字·玉部（珍，寶也。从玉㐱聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 王字旁 4 画 + 㐱 5 画
Memory aid
Jade (王, the jade radical on the left) under a person (the 人 top of 㐱) whose three fine strokes (彡) catch the light — a treasure you hold on to.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 珍惜zhēn xīto cherish; to treasure珍 = zhēn
- 珍贵zhēn guìprecious; valuable珍 = zhēn
- 珍珠zhēn zhūpearl珍 = zhēn
Go deeper
All readings
precious; treasure
precious; valuable; rare; a treasure; to treasure something
贵重、少有的；也指看得很重、舍不得浪费。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 珍惜zhēn xīto cherish; to treasure珍 = zhēn
- 珍贵zhēn guìprecious; valuable珍 = zhēn
- 珍珠zhēn zhūpearl珍 = zhēn
Sound component
㐱 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 珍 mean?
珍 (zhēn) means precious; valuable; rare; a treasure; to treasure something.
How do you pronounce 珍?
It is pronounced zhēn.
What parts is 珍 made of?
王 (king) and 㐱 (rare element written 人 over 彡; used as the sound part zhěn in 诊 / 珍 / 疹), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·玉部（珍，寶也。从玉㐱聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 王字旁 4 画 + 㐱 5 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 珍 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 珍?
玉. 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 珍?
Common ones are 珍惜 and 珍贵. The reading of 珍 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.