qiàn
noun #6,097

Meanings

  1. 1 madder (plant)
  2. 2 dark red

Examples

HSK 1
名字茜茜
Tā de míngzì jiào Xīxī.
Her name is Xixi.
HSK 5
Qiàncǎo kěyǐ yònglái rǎn bù.
Madder can be used to dye cloth.

Tips

usage
When used as a plant name, read as qiàn. When used in names (especially transliterations), often read as xī, as in 茜茜公主 (Princess Sissi).

Components

radical
cǎo
grass; plant (radical form)
Top grass radical - the indexing radical. Marks as a plant: madder, a climbing herb whose roots yield a deep red dye. The grass radical reliably anchors the entire botanical category (, , , , ), so the moment you see you know to expect a plant name.
phonetic
西
west (here phonetic)
Bottom 西 - supplies the sound. The dual reading is regular: classical qiàn for the dye-plant (an old phonetic correspondence) and modern xī when used in names like 茜茜 (Sissi), where the more common 西 reading takes over.

Stroke Order

qiàn