What does 钱 mean in Chinese?

钱 (qián) means "money" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 钱?

钱 is written with 10 strokes, starting from the 钅 (gold) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 钱?

The radical of 钱 is 钅 (gold, Kangxi radical #167). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 错.

How many strokes does 钱 have?

The Chinese character 钱 has 10 strokes.

What HSK level is 钱?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 钱 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

钱 (qián): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

钱

qián

money

HSK 1 character 10 strokes Radical: 钅 (gold)

Quick Answer

钱 (qián) means "money" with 10 strokes, radical 钅 (gold), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 钱 →Animated stroke-order for 钱 →

Pronunciation

qián

Meaning

Primary: money

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

钱 does not appear in oracle bone script. It is a phono-semantic compound combining 金 (metal) as the semantic component with 戋 (jiān, meaning small or thin) as the phonetic component. The original referent was a spade-shaped agricultural tool made of metal, which later became a unit of currency because such tools were used as commodity money in ancient China.

Form evolution

The traditional form 錢 is built from 金 on the left and 戋 (the traditional 戔) on the right, and is fully attested from the small seal script onward. In clerical and regular script the metal radical regularised into its familiar four-dot base. The PRC simplified form 钱 reduces 金 to 钅 and 戔 to 戋, keeping the same structure.

How the meaning evolved

The earliest meaning was a farming implement similar to a spade or hoe. Because spade-shaped bronze pieces circulated as currency in the Zhou dynasty, the word shifted to mean money or coin in general. In modern Mandarin 钱 covers money, cash, funds, and by extension wealth, and it also serves as a common surname.

Cultural note

The idiom 有钱能使鬼推磨 (with money you can make a ghost push a millstone) preserves the blunt commercial sense of 钱. Learners often confuse 钱 with the measure word 块 (kuài), which is actually the colloquial counter for yuan.

Mnemonic

Metal that is shallow — coins, money

Decomposition

钱=钅radical+戋component

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	qián
Meanings	money
Stroke count	10 strokes
Radical	钅 (#167: gold)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1
Frequency	#797 most common

Example sentences

我没有钱。
Wǒ méiyǒu qián.
I don't have money.
From 钱 (HSK 1)
你有零钱吗？
Nǐ yǒu língqián ma?
Do you have small change?
From 零钱 (HSK 4)
创业需要足够的本钱。
Chuàngyè xūyào zúgòu de běnqián.
Starting a business needs sufficient capital.
From 本钱 (HSK 7-9)