尖 (jiān): pointed, tapering, sharp, (of a sound) shrill, piercing, (of one's hearing, sight etc) sharp, acute, keen
尖 (jiān) is a Chinese character meaning “pointed.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 小 (structural) and 大 (structural). It ranks #1313 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 尖 a point, small 小 over big 大. Its radical form 小 (small) appears in many related characters such as 小 (xiǎo, small), 少 (shǎo, few), 尚 (shàng, still).
Definitions
- pointed
- tapering
- sharp
- (of a sound) shrill
- piercing
- (of one's hearing, sight etc) sharp
- acute
- keen
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA point, small 小 over big 大
Decomposition: ⿱小大 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 尖 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 尖叫verb | jiān jiào | to screech |
| 顶尖noun | dǐng jiān | peak |
| 脚尖noun | jiǎo jiān | the extremity of the foot |
| 尖锐adjective | jiān ruì | sharp |
| 尖端noun | jiān duān | sharp pointed end |
| 指尖noun | zhǐ jiān | fingertip |
| 尖酸adjective | jiān suān | harsh |
| 尖顶noun | jiān dǐng | pointed object |
| 尖刻adjective | jiān kè | caustic |
| 尖峰noun | jiān fēng | sharp peak (landform) |
| 钻牛角尖verb | zuān niú jiǎo jiān | lit. to penetrate into a bull's horn (idiom) |
| 尖子noun | jiān zi | best of its kind |
| 尖头 | jiān tóu | pointed end |
| 尖利adjective | jiān lì | sharp |
| 舌尖noun | shé jiān | tip of tongue |
尖 appears in 89 compound words: 45 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 24 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 尖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
老师教我们尖字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men jiān zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "尖."
《港楼》美联布少明:尖沙咀瑧玥首批订价具竞争力 料五成投资者入...
gǎng lóu měi lián bù shǎo míng : jiān shā jǔ 瑧 玥 shǒu pī dìng jià jù jìng zhēng lì liào wǔ chéng tóu zī zhě rù . . .
"Hong Kong Building" Midland Bu Shaoming: The first batch of Tsim Sha Tsui Yaoyue is competitive, and it is expected that 50% of investors will enter...
造船公司老板观神韵 赞舞蹈演员技艺顶尖
zào chuán gōng sī lǎo bǎn guàn shén yùn zàn wǔ dǎo yǎn yuán jì yì dǐng jiān
The owner of the shipbuilding company watched Shen Yun and praised the dancers' top skills
高雄捷运尖峰期、大型活动常塞爆 民众连署盼车厢加挂...
gāo xióng jié yùn jiān fēng qī , dà xíng huó dòng cháng sāi bào mín zhòng lián shǔ pàn chē xiāng jiā guà . . .
During the peak period of the Kaohsiung MRT, large-scale events are often congested, and the people sign a petition hoping that the carriage will be added...
油站打尖—无品妇“人肉路障”瞓后方车头 车主惊呼...
yóu zhàn dǎ jiān — wú pǐn fù rén ròu lù zhàng 瞓 hòu fāng chē tóu chē zhǔ jīng hū . . .
The gas station is sharp - the "human flesh barricade" of the tasteless woman sleeps in the front of the rear car The owner exclaims...
【动物浮世绘】娜女子/鼻尖点亮的世界
dòng wù fú shì huì 娜 nǚ zǐ bí jiān diǎn liàng de shì jiè
【Animal Ukiyo-e】Na Woman/The World of the Tip of the Nose
矛尖浸在一种致命的毒药里。
Máo jiān jìn zài yīzhǒng zhìmìng de dúyào lǐ.
The tip of the spear was dipped in a deadly poison.
突然间她开始用尖锐的声音大喊。
Tūránjiān tā kāishǐ yòng jiānruì de shēngyīn dàhǎn.
All at once she began to shout in a shrill voice.
英国所有的顶尖球队都在超级联赛中。
Yīngguó suǒyǒu de dǐngjiān qiúduì dōu zài chāojí liánsài zhōng.
All the top teams in England are in the Premier League.
鳄鱼有尖利的牙齿。
èyú yǒu jiānlì de yáchǐ.
Crocodiles have sharp teeth.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 尖 (jiān) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 尖?
What are the components of 尖?
What are common words containing 尖?
What characters sound the same as 尖 (jiān)?
Is 尖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 尖 with real-time feedback
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