How to write 千 (qiān, “thousand”)
千 (qiān), an HSK 1 character, means “thousand”. It is HSK 1 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 2 in the 2021 standard. It is the number 1,000. As a top-bottom character it splits into 丿 (“slash”), stroke 1; 十 (“ten”, the radical), strokes 2–3, written the top first. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 千万 (“ten million”), 千克 (“kilogram”) and 成千上万 (“by the thousands and tens of thousands”). Japanese reads it sen, “thousand”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- qiān
- Strokes
- 3
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 十 (“ten”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top rightleftwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 3 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
千 in numbers
- 千万 — ten million
- 千克 — kilogram
- 成千上万 — by the thousands and tens of thousands…
- 千家万户 — every family (idiom)
- 千变万化 — countless changes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| qiān first tone | thousand; used in 秋千 (qiūqiān) | — | 千万 千克 成千上万 千家万户 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 2
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 111 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 千
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 千 | qiān | thousand HSK 1 |
| 千万 千萬 | qiānwàn | ten million; countless HSK 4 |
| 千克 | qiānkè | kilogram HSK 4 |
| 成千上万 成千上萬 | chéngqiān-shàngwàn | by the thousands and tens of thousands (idiom); untold numbers HSK 6 |
| 千家万户 千家萬戶 | qiānjiā-wànhù | every family (idiom) HSK 6 |
| 千变万化 千變萬化 | qiānbiàn-wànhuà | countless changes; constant permutation HSK 7-9 |
| 千方百计 千方百計 | qiānfāng-bǎijì | lit. thousand ways, a hundred plans (idiom); by every possible means HSK 7-9 |
| 千军万马 千軍萬馬 | qiānjūn-wànmǎ | magnificent army with thousands of men and horses (idiom); impressive… HSK 7-9 |
| 千姿百态 千姿百態 | qiānzī-bǎitài | (idiom) to come in many different shapes; to display a great variety… HSK 7-9 |
| 千钧一发 千鈞一髮 | qiānjūn-yífà | a thousand pounds hangs by a thread (idiom); (at the) critical HSK 7-9 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 1, in list order: