尘 (chén): dust, dirt, earth
尘 (chén) is a Chinese character meaning “dust.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 小 (structural) and 土 (structural). It ranks #1702 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 尘 small 小 flakes of earth 土. Its radical form 小 (small) appears in many related characters such as 小 (xiǎo, small), 少 (shǎo, few), 尚 (shàng, still).
Definitions
- dust
- dirt
- earth
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSmall 小 flakes of earth 土
Decomposition: ⿱小土 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 尘 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 尘
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 吸尘器noun | xī chén qì | vacuum cleaner |
| 尘土noun | chén tǔ | dust |
| 尘埃noun | chén āi | dust |
| 沙尘暴noun | shā chén bào | sand and dust storm |
| 尘世noun | chén shì | (religion) this mortal life |
| 后尘noun | hòu chén | lit. trailing dust |
| 尘埃落定phrase | chén āi luò dìng | lit. the dust has settled (idiom) |
| 一尘不染phrase | yī chén bù rǎn | (idiom) untainted by even a speck of dust |
| 尘封verb | chén fēng | covered in dust |
| 烟尘noun | yān chén | smoke and dust |
| 红尘noun | hóng chén | the world of mortals (Buddhism) |
| 粉尘noun | fěn chén | fine dust (esp. in environmental and industrial contexts) |
| 除尘 | chú chén | to eliminate dust (i.e. filter out suspended particles) |
| 望尘莫及phrase | wàng chén mò jí | lit. to see only the other rider's dust and have no hope of catching up (idiom) |
| 风尘noun | fēng chén | windblown dust |
尘 appears in 52 compound words: 23 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 23 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 尘 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to be unstained by an evil environment; to be selfless and incorruptible; to be immaculate; to be spotless
Showing 9 of 10 idioms containing 尘.
Example Sentences
这个尘字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě chén zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "尘" carries different meanings in Classical Chinese.
今夜起雷雨、大风、沙尘组团来袭,北京清明假期依旧多风
jīn yè qǐ léi yǔ , dà fēng , shā chén zǔ tuán lái xí , běi jīng qīng míng jiǎ qī yī jiù duō fēng
Starting tonight, thunderstorms, strong winds, and sandstorms are set to hit the area, and Beijing will remain windy throughout the Qingming holiday.
【混合过关】兆文:劲沙尘进步且勇
hùn gě guò guān zhào wén : jìn shā chén jìn bù qiě yǒng
[Accumulator] Zhaowen: Jinsha is improving and playing with courage
...提醒:床单枕套最好一周洗一次,别让床变成尘螨的温床!
. . . tí xǐng : chuáng dān zhěn tào zuì hǎo yī zhōu xǐ yī cì , bié ràng chuáng biàn chéng chén 螨 de wēn chuáng !
... Reminder: It is best to wash your sheets and pillowcases once a week, so as not to turn the bed into a breeding ground for dust mites!
...联副不打烊画廊】联副/梁育瑄作品〈如雾的尘埃〉
. . . lián fù bù dǎ 烊 huà láng lián fù liáng yù 瑄 zuò pǐn rú wù de chén 埃
... Lian Vice Gallery] Lian Vice / Liang Yuxuan's work "Dust Like Fog"
...PX8/IPX9 防水 + IP6X 防尘认证
. . . P X 8 I P X 9 fáng shuǐ I P 6 X fáng chén rèn zhèng
... PX8/IPX9 water resistance + IP6X dust resistance certification
他对室内灰尘过敏。
Tā duì shìnèi huīchén guòmǐn.
He is allergic to house dust.
主妇给地毯吸了尘。
Zhǔfù gěi dìtǎn xī le chén.
The homemaker vacuumed the carpet.
所有的家具都布满了灰尘。
Suǒyǒu de jiājù dōu bù mǎn le huīchén.
All the furniture was covered with dust.
我免费得到了这个吸尘器。
Wǒ miǎnfèi dédào le zhège xīchénqì.
I got this vacuum cleaner for nothing.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 尘 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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