钱 (qián): money
钱 (qián) is a Chinese character meaning “money.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 戋 (phonetic). It ranks #603 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 钱 money. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell), 铁 (tiě, iron).
Definitions
- money
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 钱 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 钱
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 金钱noun | jīn qián | money | 6 |
| 价钱noun | jià qian | price | 4 |
| 零钱noun | líng qián | change (of money) | 4 |
| 零花钱noun | líng huā qián | pocket money | 4 |
| 压岁钱noun | yā suì qián | money given to children as a gift on Chinese New Year's Eve | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 钱包noun | qián bāo | purse |
| 赚钱verb | zhuàn qián | to earn money |
| 花钱verb | huā qián | to spend money |
| 值钱adjective | zhí qián | valuable |
| 挣钱verb | zhèng qián | to make money |
| 大钱noun | dà qián | large sum of money |
| 洗钱verb | xǐ qián | to launder money |
| 钱财noun | qián cái | wealth |
| 有钱adjective | yǒu qián | well-off |
| 工钱noun | gōng qián | salary |
| 掏钱verb | tāo qián | to pay |
| 黑钱noun | hēi qián | dirty money |
| 赌钱verb | dǔ qián | to gamble |
| 付钱verb | fù qián | to pay |
| 零用钱noun | líng yòng qián | pocket money |
钱 appears in 102 compound words: 13 as the first character, 86 as the last, and 1 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 钱 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
这笔钱需要在月底前支付，否则会产生滞纳金。
Zhè bǐ qián xūyào zài yuè dǐ qián zhīfù, fǒuzé huì chǎnshēng zhìnàjīn.
This payment needs to be made by the end of the month; otherwise, late fees will be incurred.
18岁青年认等钱使七度收骗款 被判入教导所
1 8 suì qīng nián rèn děng qián shǐ qī dù shōu piàn kuǎn bèi pàn rù jiào dǎo suǒ
The 18-year-old was sentenced to a correctional institution for accepting fraudulent money seven times
...有福!3生肖女“晚年命最好” 有人陪、有钱花、有话语权
. . . yǒu fú ! 3 shēng xiào nǚ wǎn nián mìng zuì hǎo yǒu rén péi , yǒu qián huā , yǒu huà yǔ quán
... Blessed! 3 zodiac women "have the best life in their old age" with someone to accompany them, have money to spend, and have the right to speak
被欠钱“拖过年” 女撂男友讨债砍前任一家三代
bèi qiàn qián tuō guò nián nǚ 撂 nán yǒu tǎo zhài kǎn qián rèn yī jiā sān dài
Being owed money "dragged on for the New Year" The woman abandoned her boyfriend to collect debts and cut off three generations of her ex's family
(新春走基层)从塔里木河到钱塘江:一颗“石榴籽”的..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng cóng tǎ lǐ mù hé dào qián táng jiāng yī kē shí 榴 籽 de . .
(Chinese New Year) From Tarim River to Qiantang River: A "Pomegranate Seed" of...
在浙江,看完电影票根别扔!可以当钱用
zài zhè jiāng , kàn wán diàn yǐng piào gēn bié rēng ! kě yǐ dāng qián yòng
In Zhejiang, don't throw away your movie ticket stubs! They can be used as money.
可以借点钱给我吗？我现在有点缺钱。
Kěyǐ jiè diǎn qián gěi wǒ ma? wǒ xiànzài yǒudiǎn quēqián.
Could you lend me some money? I'm short of cash at the moment.
这支钢笔要多少钱？
Zhè zhī gāngbǐ yào duōshao qián?
How much is this pen?
这台电脑你用多少钱买的？
Zhè tái diànnǎo nǐ yòng duōshao qián mǎi de?
How much was your new computer?
先生，我要存钱，怎么存？
Xiānsheng, wǒ yào cúnqián, zěnme cún?
Sir, I would like to deposit my money. How do I do that?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 钅 (money) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 钱 (qián) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 钱 and 线?
How many strokes does 钱 have?
What is the radical of 钱?
What are the components of 钱?
What are common words containing 钱?
What characters sound the same as 钱 (qián)?
Is 钱 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 钱 with real-time feedback
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