What does 春 mean in Chinese?

春 (chūn) means "spring (time); gay; joyful; youthful; love; lust; life" in Chinese.

How do you pronounce 春?

春 is pronounced "chūn" in Mandarin Chinese. The tone number is 1.

What HSK level is 春?

春 was an HSK 3 word on the old HSK 2.0 lists but is not on the new exam syllabus.

What words contain the character 春?

Common words with 春 include 三春 (the three spring months), 伊春 (Yichun prefecture level city in Heilongjiang), 叫春 (to caterwaul), 回春 (return of spring), 伊春区 (Yichun district of Yichun city, Heilongjiang).

How do you write 春?

春 has 9 strokes. Its radical is 日. You can view the stroke order animation on our stroke order tool.

春 (chūn), spring (time)

春

chūn

spring (time); gay; joyful; youthful

Dropped from new HSK9 strokes

Character Breakdown

春 = 三 + 人 + 日

Three people under the sun — spring

Radical: 日 (no. 72)Strokes: 9

View stroke order →

Definitions

spring (time)
gay
joyful
youthful
love
lust
life

Example Sentences

春天很美丽。

Chūntiān hěn měilì

Spring is very beautiful

Words Containing 春

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
三春	sān chūn	the three spring months
伊春	Yī chūn	Yichun prefecture level city in Heilongjiang
叫春	jiào chūn	to caterwaul
回春	huí chūn	return of spring
伊春区	Yī chūn qū	Yichun district of Yichun city, Heilongjiang

→

人生一世，草木一春(rén shēng yī shì , cǎo mù yī chūn)· Man has but one life, grass but one spring (idiom). fig. the brevity of human existence

→

嗜酒如命(shì jiǔ rú mìng)· to love wine as one's life (idiom); fond of the bottle

→

一年之计在于春(yī nián zhī jì zài yú chūn)· the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom)

→

Grammar Notes

Expressing Change (了 sentence-final)HSK 3

Statement + 了 (at end of sentence)

Appears in these articles

HSK levels

New HSK exam: Not tested
HSK 2.0: HSK 3
HSK Lord study list: Not on a list

春: On the old HSK 3 list, dropped from the new exam. See where your old level lands

New exam levels follow the CLEC syllabus released 15 November 2025. The first official sitting is announced for 13 December 2026. HSK 7-9 is one advanced band.

Not on the new exam

春 is not on the new HSK syllabus. Build the words the exam does test.

HSK Lord starts you at your level and schedules each review right before you would forget the word. Free to start.

Start studying free Studied the old HSK? Convert your level

Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.

春