顷 (qǐng) is a Chinese character meaning “a very short time, an instant”. It is written from 匕 (ancient spoon; dagger) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “a moment”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
匕 + 页
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：匕 2 画 + 页 6 画 = 顷 8 画，笔顺分段一致
Memory aid
A spoon (匕) tilted next to a head (页). One tip of the spoon and it is already done — 顷 is a moment, no longer than that.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 顷刻qǐng kèin an instant; in a moment顷 = qǐng
- 公顷gōng qǐnghectare顷 = qǐng
Go deeper
All readings
a moment; hectare
a very short time, an instant; also a unit of land area (1 顷 = 100 mu)
极短的时间，一会儿；也是地积单位，一顷等于一百亩。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 顷刻qǐng kèin an instant; in a moment顷 = qǐng
- 公顷gōng qǐnghectare顷 = qǐng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 顷 mean?
顷 (qǐng) means a very short time, an instant; also a unit of land area (1 顷 = 100 mu).
How do you pronounce 顷?
It is pronounced qǐng.
What parts is 顷 made of?
匕 (ancient spoon; dagger) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：匕 2 画 + 页 6 画 = 顷 8 画，笔顺分段一致. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 顷 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 顷?
页. 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 顷?
Common ones are 顷刻 and 公顷. The reading of 顷 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.