珍 (zhēn): precious thing, treasure, culinary delicacy
珍 (zhēn) is a Chinese character meaning “precious thing.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 王 (semantic), 人 (structural) and 彡 (phonetic). It ranks #1306 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 珍 jade. Its radical form 王 (jade) appears in many related characters such as 玩 (wán, to play), 现 (xiàn, to appear), 班 (bān, team).
Definitions
- precious thing
- treasure
- culinary delicacy
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 珍 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 珍
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 珍爱verb | zhēn ài | to cherish |
| 珍宝noun | zhēn bǎo | a treasure |
| 珍藏verb | zhēn cáng | a collection of rare and valuable items |
| 珍视verb | zhēn shì | to place great importance on |
| 珍珠港proper-noun | zhēn zhū gǎng | Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) |
| 珍品noun | zhēn pǐn | valuable object |
| 袖珍adjective | xiù zhēn | pocket-sized |
| 珍稀adjective | zhēn xī | rare |
| 珍奇adjective | zhēn qí | rare |
| 珍重verb | zhēn zhòng | to treasure |
| 弥足珍贵phrase | mí zú zhēn guì | extremely precious |
| 山珍海味phrase | shān zhēn hǎi wèi | exotic delicacies |
| 维珍 | wéi zhēn | Virgin (company) |
| 如数家珍 | rú shǔ jiā zhēn | lit. as if enumerating one's family valuables (idiom) |
| 珍异 | zhēn yì | rare |
珍 appears in 54 compound words: 50 as the first character, 24 as the last, and 26 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 珍 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
lit. as if enumerating one's family valuables (idiom); fig. to be very familiar with a matter
Example Sentences
时间很珍贵，我们要好好利用每一分每一秒。
Shíjiān hěn zhēnguì, wǒmen yào hǎohao lìyòng měi yī fēn měi yī miǎo.
Time is precious; we must make good use of every minute and every second.
...珈裤时代”爆红—全网疯玩“热狗肠包X” 珍珠虾滑杨枝甘露乜都塞
. . . 珈 kù shí dài bào hóng — quán wǎng fēng wán rè gǒu cháng bāo X zhēn zhū xiā huá yáng zhī gān lù 乜 dōu sāi
... The era of coffee pants "became popular - the whole network is crazy to play "hot dog sausage bun X" pearl shrimp slippery poplar twig nectar is stuffed with everything
【联副文讯】联副/舒国治、朱国珍对谈:饮食书写,情感记忆
lián fù wén xùn lián fù shū guó zhì , zhū guó zhēn duì tán : yǐn shí shū xiě , qíng gǎn jì yì
【Joint Deputy News】Joint Deputy/Shu Guozhi and Zhu Guozhen Dialogue: Diet Writing, Emotional Memory
珍惜生命|秀茂坪顺利邨45岁妇堕楼 昏迷送...
zhēn xī shēng mìng xiù mào píng shùn lì 邨 4 5 suì fù duò lóu hūn mí sòng . . .
Cherish life|A 45-year-old woman fell from a building in Shunli Village, Sau Mau Ping, and was sent in a coma...
古镇烟火与家常珍味,每一家餐厅都是精选丨寻味青浦
gǔ zhèn yān huǒ yú jiā cháng zhēn wèi , měi yī jiā cān tīng dū shì jīng xuǎn 丨 xún wèi qīng pǔ
The best way to get the most out of your life is to go to a restaurant where you can enjoy the best of what you've got to offer, and you'll be able to do it all in one place.
珍想要一个冰淇淋甜筒。
Zhēn xiǎngyào yī gè bīngqílín tiántǒng.
Jane wanted an ice cream cone.
珍比苏珊更吸引人。
Zhēn bǐ Sūshān gèng xīyǐn rén.
Jane is more attractive than Susan.
你圣诞节要什么，珍妮？
Nǐ Shèngdànjié yào shénme, zhēn nī?
What do you want for Christmas, Jenny?
为什么珍去了车站?
Wèishénme zhēn qù le chēzhàn?
Why did Jane go to the station?
唯一比无论什么资源都珍贵的是土地。
Wéiyī bǐ wúlùn shénme zīyuán dōu zhēnguì de shì tǔdì.
The one resource more precious than any other was land.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 王 (jade) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 珍 (zhēn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 珍 and 参?
How many strokes does 珍 have?
What is the radical of 珍?
What are the components of 珍?
What are common words containing 珍?
What characters sound the same as 珍 (zhēn)?
Is 珍 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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