川
Tap the pinyin to hear it
(bound form) river; creek; plain; an area of level country
- HSK 3.0
- Level 7–9
- Old HSK
- Level 6
- Strokes
- 3
- Radical
- 巛 itself
- Structure
- Left–middle–right 左中右
- Traditional
- 川
- Common rank
- #458
- Unicode
- U+5DDD
Sound it out + + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 川 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A river's flow; compare 巛
Components 丿 丨 ×2
How to remember it
stream · Heisig RSH #134
— as a component also called: stream, flood
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 川
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 四川外国语大学 | Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) | |
| 一马平川 | flat land one could gallop straight across (idiom); wide expanse of flat country | |
| 名山大川 | famous mountains and great rivers | |
| 金川区 | Jinchuan, a district of Jinchang City 金昌市[Jin1 chang1 Shi4], Gansu | |
| 金川县 | Jinchuan, a county in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture 阿壩藏族羌族自治州|阿坝藏族羌族自治州[A1… | |
| 利川市 | Lichuan, a county-level city in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture 恩施土家族苗族自治州[En1 … | |
| 平川区 | Pingchuan, a district of Baiyin City 白銀市|白银市[Bai2 yin2 Shi4], Gansu | |
| 四川大学 | Sichuan University | |
| 合川区 | Hechuan, a district of Chongqing 重慶|重庆[Chong2 qing4] | |
| 南川区 | Nanchuan, a district of Chongqing 重慶|重庆[Chong2 qing4] | |
| 通川区 | Tongchuan, a district of Dazhou City 達州市|达州市[Da2 zhou1 Shi4], Sichuan | |
| 张家川回族自治县 | Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County, in Tianshui City 天水市[Tian1 shui3 Shi4], Gansu | |
| 东川区 | Dongchuan, a district of Kunming City 昆明市[Kun1 ming2 Shi4], Yunnan | |
| 龙川县 | Longchuan, a county in Heyuan City 河源市[He2 yuan2 Shi4], Guangdong | |
| 江川区 | Jiangchuan, a district of Yuxi City 玉溪市[Yu4 xi1 Shi4], Yunnan | |
| 北川县 | see 北川羌族自治縣|北川羌族自治县[Bei3 chuan1 Qiang1 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 xian4] | |
| 达川区 | Dachuan, a district of Dazhou City 達州市|达州市[Da2 zhou1 Shi4], Sichuan | |
| 山川 | mountains and rivers; landscape | |
| 四川日报 | Sichuan Daily | |
| 中川 | Nakagawa (Japanese surname and place name) |
Sound family
These characters use 川 as their sound component — compare how they read.