签 (qiān): to sign one's name, to write brief comments on a document, inscribed bamboo stick (variant of 籤|签)
签 (qiān) is a Chinese character meaning “to sign one's name.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (semantic) and 佥 (phonetic). It ranks #1247 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 签 bamboo. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).
Definitions
- to sign one's name
- to write brief comments on a document
- inscribed bamboo stick (variant of 籤|签)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 签 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 签
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 签名verb/noun | qiān míng | to sign (one's name with a pen etc) | 5 |
| 签字verb/noun | qiān zì | to sign (one's name) | 5 |
| 签证verb/noun | qiān zhèng | visa | 4 |
| 签订verb | qiān dìng | to agree to and sign (a treaty etc) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 签署verb | qiān shǔ | to sign (an agreement) |
| 标签noun | biāo qiān | label |
| 签约verb | qiān yuē | to sign a contract or agreement |
| 抽签verb | chōu qiān | to perform divination with sticks |
| 签发verb | qiān fā | to issue (a document) |
| 牙签noun | yá qiān | toothpick |
| 签收verb | qiān shōu | to sign to acknowledge receipt of sth (e.g. a delivery or document) |
| 签到verb | qiān dào | to register |
| 书签noun | shū qiān | bookmark |
| 签定 | qiān dìng | to sign (a contract, treaty etc) |
| 签字笔 | qiān zì bǐ | felt-tip pen |
| 续签verb | xù qiān | to renew a contract |
| 竹签noun | zhú qiān | bamboo skewer |
| 签发地点 | qiān fā dì diǎn | place of issue (of document) |
| 小书签 | xiǎo shū qiān | bookmarklet (computing) |
签 appears in 54 compound words: 48 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 6 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 签 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
请在合同上签字，确认同意所有条款。
Qǐng zài hétong shàng qiān zì, quèrèn tóngyì suǒyǒu tiáokuǎn.
Please sign the contract to confirm agreement with all terms.
...ith+Nephew与RMR Ortho签署美国分销协议
. . . i t h N e p h e w yǔ R M R O r t h o qiān shǔ měi guó fēn xiāo xié yì
... ith+Nephew signs a U.S. distribution agreement with RMR Ortho
消息称马斯克的 xAI 与美国防部签约:Grok 大模型获准用于军方涉密系统
xiāo xī chèn mǎ sī kè de x A I yǔ měi guó fáng bù qiān yuē : G r o k dà mó xíng huò zhǔn yòng yú jūn fāng shè mì xì tǒng
It is reported that Musk's xAI has signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense: the Grok model is approved for use in the military's secret-related systems
...四季度2025年业绩:首次实现盈利季度,签下1500万美元AI合约
. . . sì jì dù 2 0 2 5 nián yè jì : shǒu cì shí xiàn yíng lì jì dù , qiān xià 1 5 0 0 wàn měi yuán A I gě yuē
... Q4 2025 results: Achieved a profitable quarter for the first time, signing a $15 million AI contract
列国鉴|记者观察:食品贴上警示标签 智利欲全民瘦身..
liè guó jiàn jì zhě guàn chá shí pǐn tiē shǎng jǐng shì biāo qiān zhì lì yù quán mín shòu shēn . .
China's foreign policy: Chile wants to reduce the number of people in the country...
子弟兵给您送祝福啦,快来签收!
zǐ dì bīng gěi nín sòng zhù fú lā , kuài lái qiān shōu !
Our troops are sending you blessings—come sign for them!
汤姆拿起罐子读标签。
Tāngmǔ náqǐ guànzi dú biāoqiān.
Tom picked up the jar and read the label.
汤姆勉强签了文件。
Tāngmǔ miǎnqiǎng qiān le wénjiàn.
Tom reluctantly signed the papers.
请你在这里签名好吗？
Qǐng nǐ zài zhèlǐ qiānmíng hǎo ma?
Could you sign here, please?
请您在登记册上签名好吗？
Qǐng nín zài dēngjì cè shàng qiānmíng hǎo ma?
Could you please sign the register?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the ⺮ (bamboo) component
Homophones — Characters pronounced qiān
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 签 (qiān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 签 and 验?
How many strokes does 签 have?
What is the radical of 签?
What are the components of 签?
What are common words containing 签?
What characters sound the same as 签 (qiān)?
Is 签 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 签 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.