求 (qiú): to seek, to look for, to request
求 (qiú) is a Chinese character meaning “to seek.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural) and 氺 (structural). It ranks #312 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- to seek
- to look for
- to request
Stroke Order
Practice writing 求 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 求
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 要求verb/noun | yāo qiú | to request | 3 |
| 请求verb/noun | qǐng qiú | to request | 5 |
| 追求verb | zhuī qiú | to pursue (a goal etc) stubbornly | 5 |
| 求婚verb | qiú hūn | to propose marriage | 6 |
| 寻求verb | xún qiú | to seek | 6 |
| 需求noun | xū qiú | requirement | 5 |
| 求救verb | qiú jiù | to seek help (when in distress or having difficulties) | 6 |
| 求助verb | qiú zhù | to request help | 6 |
| 征求verb | zhēng qiú | to solicit | 6 |
| 求职verb | qiú zhí | to seek employment | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 祈求verb | qí qiú | to pray for |
| 恳求verb | kěn qiú | to beg |
| 梦寐以求phrase | mèng mèi yǐ qiú | (lit.) to yearn for sth even in one's dreams (idiom) |
| 乞求verb | qǐ qiú | to beg |
| 求生verb | qiú shēng | to seek survival |
| 渴求verb | kě qiú | to long for |
| 求饶verb | qiú ráo | to beg forgiveness |
| 求之不得 | qiú zhī bù dé | lit. seek but fail to get (idiom) |
| 求爱verb | qiú ài | to woo |
| 哀求verb | āi qiú | to entreat |
| 求情verb | qiú qíng | to plea for leniency |
| 求援verb | qiú yuán | to ask for help |
| 吹毛求疵phrase | chuī máo qiú cī | lit. to blow apart the hairs upon a fur to discover any defect (idiom) |
| 强求verb | qiǎng qiú | to insist on |
| 力求verb | lì qiú | to make every effort to |
求 appears in 100 compound words: 42 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 16 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 求 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
to not seek deep understanding; to know things only on a superficial level
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 求.
Example Sentences
站在桥上望去，求水缓缓向东流去。
zhàn zài qiáo shǎng wàng qù , qiú shuǐ huǎn huǎn xiàng dōng liú qù .
Standing on the bridge, one can see the river flowing gently eastward.
低糖食品有哪些?糖尿病患者和减肥人群需求不同吗
dī táng shí pǐn yǒu nǎ xiē ? táng niào bìng huàn zhě hé jiǎn féi rén qún xū qiú bù tóng ma
What are the low-sugar foods? Do diabetics and weight loss people have different needs?
夜王|郑秀文被要求胸部垫Pad演V姐 Sammi..每边d...
yè wáng zhèng xiù wén bèi yāo qiú xiōng bù diàn P a d yǎn V jiě S a m m i . . měi biān d . . .
Night King|Sammi Cheng was asked to play Sister V with a pad on her chest. Each side d...
...队难敌网约平台 业界洽谈高德滴滴“挂单”求生
. . . duì nán dí wǎng yuē píng tái yè jiè qià tán gāo dé dī dī guà dān qiú shēng
... The team is difficult to compete with the online dating platform, and the industry is negotiating AutoNavi Didi's "pending order" to survive
AI带旺需求...陆光通讯厂畅旺 订单排到Q4
A I dài wàng xū qiú . . . lù guāng tōng xùn hǎn chàng wàng dìng dān pái dào Q 4
AI drives demand... Luguang Communication Factory is prosperous, and orders are scheduled to Q4
跨区出行需求活跃,冬奥会带火冰雪旅游热
kuà qū chū háng xū qiú huó yuè , dōng ào huì dài huǒ bīng xuě lǚ yóu rè
The demand for cross-regional travel is active, and the Winter Olympics will bring fire to ice and snow tourism
那位求职者能胜任工作吗？
Nà wèi qiúzhízhě néng shèngrèn gōngzuò ma?
Does the applicant have suitable abilities to carry out the job?
可以说说您的具体要求吗？
Kěyǐ shuōshuo nín de jùtǐ yāoqiú ma?
Could you tell me what your specific requirements are?
用圆周能不能求得直径？
Yòng yuánzhōu néng bù néng qiúdé zhíjìng?
Is it possible to determine the diameter from the circumference?
若汤姆请求你的话，你是会做的，不是吗？
Ruò tāng mǔ qǐngqiú nǐ dehuà, nǐ shì huì zuò de, bù shì ma?
You'd do that if Tom asked you to, wouldn't you?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 求 (qiú)?
Is 求 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 求 with real-time feedback
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