泉 (quán) · spring (natural water source), fountain

Measure Word

一眼泉 yǎn

Meanings

1 spring (natural water source)
2 fountain

Characters

泉

quán

spring; fountain

Examples

HSK 6

山里有很多天然的泉。

Shānlǐ yǒu hěnduō tiānrán de quán.

There are many natural springs in the mountains.

HSK 7-9

泉水清澈甘甜。

Quánshuǐ qīngchè gāntián.

The spring water is clear and sweet.

HSK 7-9

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.