锦 (jǐn): brocade
锦 (jǐn) is a Chinese character meaning “brocade.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (structural) and 帛 (structural). It ranks #1922 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 锦 silk 帛 inlaid with gold 钅; 钅 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell).
Definitions
- brocade
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSilk 帛 inlaid with gold 钅; 钅 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰钅帛 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 锦 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 锦标赛noun | jǐn biāo sài | championship contest |
| 什锦 | shí jǐn | (food) assorted |
| 锦上添花phrase | jǐn shàng tiān huā | (lit.) to add flowers to brocade (idiom) |
| 集锦noun | jí jǐn | a collection of choice items (poems, photos etc) |
| 世锦赛noun | shì jǐn sài | world championship |
| 衣锦还乡phrase | yī jǐn huán xiāng | lit. to come back to one's hometown in silken robes (idiom) |
| 锦标noun | jǐn biāo | prize |
| 锦绣前程phrase | jǐn xiù qián chéng | bright future |
| 锦缎noun | jǐn duàn | brocade |
| 织锦noun | zhī jǐn | brocade |
| 锦旗noun | jǐn qí | silk banner (as an award or gift) |
| 锦囊noun | jǐn náng | silk brocade bag, used in ancient times to hold poetry manuscripts and other precious items |
| 锦衣卫proper-noun | jǐn yī wèi | Brocade Uniform Guard, imperial bodyguard and secret police force of the Ming emperors |
| 锦州proper-noun | jǐn zhōu | see 錦州市|锦州市 |
| 锦绣noun | jǐn xiù | beautiful |
锦 appears in 49 compound words: 43 as the first character, 24 as the last, and 33 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 锦 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
Example Sentences
锦上添花固然好，但雪中送炭更难得。
Jǐn shang tiān huā gùrán hǎo, dàn xuě zhōng sòng tàn gèng nándé.
Adding flowers to brocade is good, but sending charcoal in snowy weather is even more valuable.
...演妙龄少女激吻细30岁男星 80集新作《锦绣安然》陷争议
. . . yǎn miào líng shǎo nǚ jī wěn xì 3 0 suì nán xīng 8 0 jí xīn zuò jǐn xiù ān rán xiàn zhēng yì
... Playing a young girl kissing a 30-year-old actor with 80 episodes of the new work "Splendid Enron" is controversial
新股消息 | 锦欣康养递表港交所 专注于向高龄长者及有更...
xīn gǔ xiāo xī jǐn xīn kāng yǎng dì biǎo gǎng jiāo suǒ zhuān zhù yú xiàng gāo líng cháng zhě jí yǒu gēng . . .
IPO News | Jinxin Health Care Submission Form Hong Kong Stock Exchange focuses on providing services to the elderly and those with more...
钟东锦合体柯文哲 陈品安打出总统牌
zhōng dōng jǐn gě tǐ 柯 wén zhé chén pǐn ān dǎ chū zǒng tǒng pái
Zhong Dongjin combined Ke Wenzhe and Chen Pin'an played the presidential card
上水粉锦公路3狗疑被虐待 1狗尾巴几乎甩脱
shàng shuǐ fěn jǐn gōng lù 3 gǒu yí bèi nüè dài 1 gǒu wěi bā jī hū shuǎi tuō
Sheung Shui Fenjin Highway 3 dogs suspected of being abused 1 dog's tail almost fell off
斯诺克球员锦标赛:赵心童晋级 八强赛将战肖恩·墨菲
sī nuò kè qiú yuán jǐn biāo sài zhào xīn tóng jìn jí bā qiáng sài jiāng zhàn xiāo ēn mò 菲
Snooker Players Championship: Zhao Xintong advances to face Shaun Murphy in last eight
谁知道胡锦涛的生日？
Shéizhīdào Hú Jǐntāo de shēngrì?
Who knows Hu Jintao's birthday?
他叫了一盘炒什锦。
Tā jiào le yī pán chǎo shíjǐn.
He ordered a chop suey.
波兰与乌克兰两国一起举办2012年欧洲足球锦标赛。
Bōlán yǔ Wūkèlán liǎngguó yīqǐ jǔbàn èr líng yī èr nián ōuzhōu Zúqiú Jǐnbiāosài.
Euro 2012 is being hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine.
我们要连胜七局，才能在这场锦标赛中夺得冠军。
Wǒmen yào lián shèng qī jú, cáinéng zài zhè chǎng jǐnbiāosài zhōng duódé guànjūn.
We have to win seven times in a row to win this tournament.
Character Family
钅 Radical Family — Characters sharing the metal radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 锦 (jǐn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 锦 have?
What is the radical of 锦?
What are the components of 锦?
What are common words containing 锦?
What characters sound the same as 锦 (jǐn)?
Is 锦 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 锦 with real-time feedback
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