篆 (zhuàn): seal (of office), seal script (a calligraphic style)

篆 (zhuàn) is a Chinese character meaning “seal (of office).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 竹 (bamboo). It ranks #9999 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 竹 bamboo15 strokesFrequency #9999

Definitions

seal (of office)
seal script (a calligraphic style)

Stroke Order

Practice writing 篆 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
大篆	dà zhuàn	the great seal
小篆	xiǎo zhuàn	the small or lesser seal, the form of Chinese character standardized by the Qin dynasty
篆工	zhuàn gōng	craftsman engaged in carving characters
篆体	zhuàn tǐ	see 篆書\|篆书[zhuan4 shu1]
篆书	zhuàn shū	seal script (Chinese calligraphic style)
篆刻	zhuàn kè	to carve a seal
鸟篆	niǎo zhuàn	bird characters (a decorated form of the Great Seal)
雕虫篆刻	diāo chóng zhuàn kè	literary trifles
秦篆	qín zhuàn	seal script as unified by the Qin dynasty

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

篆 appears in 9 compound words: 44 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 11 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

雕虫篆刻diāo chóng zhuàn kèHSK 7+

literary trifles; minor skill

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

篆字在日常生活中使用频率较低。

zhuàn zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ jiào dī .

Seal script is not used very often in everyday life.

中国新闻网_梳理天下新闻Apr 2026

徐三庚诞辰200周年书法篆刻特展在杭州启幕

xú sān 庚 dàn chén 2 0 0 zhōu nián shū fǎ zhuàn kè tè zhǎn zài háng zhōu qǐ mù

Special Exhibition of Calligraphy and Seal Carving Marking the 200th Anniversary of Xu Sange’s Birth Opens in Hangzhou

SmzdmMar 2026

篆书书法底层逻辑:线条、九法与结构解析

zhuàn shū shū fǎ de céng luó jí : xiàn tiáo , jiǔ fǎ yǔ jié gòu jiě xī

The Fundamental Principles of Seal Script Calligraphy: An Analysis of Lines, the Nine Principles, and Structure

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 篆 (zhuàn) mean in Chinese?

篆 (zhuàn) primarily means "seal (of office)." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #9999 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 篆 have?

篆 is written with 15 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 篆?

The radical associated with 篆 is 竹 (bamboo). This radical appears in many characters related to bamboo.

What are common words containing 篆?

Common words with 篆 include: 大篆 (dà zhuàn, "the great seal"); 小篆 (xiǎo zhuàn, "the small or lesser seal, the form of Chinese character standardized by the Qin dynasty"); 篆工 (zhuàn gōng, "craftsman engaged in carving characters"); 篆体 (zhuàn tǐ, "see 篆書|篆书[zhuan4 shu1]"); 篆书 (zhuàn shū, "seal script (Chinese calligraphic style)"). There are over 9 compound words containing this character.

Is 篆 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 篆 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 篆 with real-time feedback

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