píng
adjective HSK 2 #2,211

Meanings

  1. 1 flat
  2. 2 level
  3. 3 equal
  4. 4 calm

Examples

Zhè tiáo lù hěn píng.
This road is very flat.
Shuǐmiàn hěn píngjìng.
The water surface is very calm.
Zhè chǎng bǐsài dǎ píng le.
This match ended in a draw.

Tips

usage
appears in many compounds: 平安 (safe), 平常 (ordinary), 平时 (usually), 平等 (equal), 平衡 (balance), 和平 (peace).

Components

radical
gān
level pole (here graphic frame)
The horizontal top stroke plus the central vertical and its connecting line form a -silhouette — Kangxi radical #51, the indexing radical. In ancient the long horizontal was a level surface and the vertical was the central axis; modern indexing slots the character under even though the original etymology is a balance scene, not a pole.
ideograph
two small balancing strokes
Two short slanted strokes flanking the vertical — abstract markers of weights or vapor balanced on either side of the level surface above. The ancient form depicted breath or sound coming out evenly; the dots are the two equal halves. They turn into by adding the 'balanced' meaning.

Stroke Order

píng