泉 (quán): spring (natural water source)

Measure Word

一眼泉 yǎn

Meanings

1 spring (natural water source)
2 fountain

Characters

泉

quán

spring; fountain

Examples

山里有很多天然的泉。

Shānlǐ yǒu hěnduō tiānrán de quán.

There are many natural springs in the mountains.

泉水清澈甘甜。

Quánshuǐ qīngchè gāntián.

The spring water is clear and sweet.

济南被称为泉城。

Jǐnán bèi chēngwéi quán chéng.

Jinan is known as the Spring City.

Tips

memory

The character 泉 looks like water (水 at the bottom) emerging from a white (白) source underground.

usage

Common compounds: 温泉 (wēnquán, hot spring), 泉水 (quánshuǐ, spring water), 矿泉水 (kuàngquánshuǐ, mineral water).

Components

radical

水 shuǐ

water

水 is the indexing radical — flowing water in full standalone form rather than the variant 氵, because here it sits below as a self-contained streaming shape. The combination depicts water issuing from a rock cleft, the literal picture of a natural spring.

semantic

白 bái

white; clear

白 sits on top in stylised form — originally a small opening in the rock, now resembling the white char. It pictures the cleft from which water emerges, and its modern shape adds a flavour of clarity that fits clean spring water.