The character 千 — “thousand”: how to write it and what it means
thousand
The Chinese character 千 is read qiān and means “thousand”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 千
千 has 3 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 千, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
Words with 千
- 千万by no means; be sure toHSK 4
- 千克kilogram (formal)HSK 4
- 成千上万thousands upon thousands, multitudeHSK 6
- 千家万户every family, all householdsHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 千?
千 has 3 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 千 mean?
千 means “thousand”. It appears in 千万 (“by no means”), 千克 (“kilogram”), 成千上万 (“thousands upon thousands”), 千家万户 (“every family”).
How do you pronounce 千?
千 is read qiān. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 千 have?
3 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 千 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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