How to Write 瓶 (píng) — Meaning “bottle”

Picture two people (the two dots on top of 并) standing side by side next to a clay roof (瓦). They are holding a bottle together. Alternatively, think of 'combine' (并) 'tile' (瓦) to make a bottle.

Write the left part 并 first, making sure the two dots are placed neatly above the horizontal line. The right part 瓦 has a specific order: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, then the final hook stroke. A common mistake is to make the 瓦 too wide—keep it narrow so both sides are balanced.

瓶 means 'bottle' (tall with a narrow neck), while 瓮 (wèng) is a large jar or urn with a wide mouth, often used for wine or ashes. 瓯 (ōu) is a small bowl or cup, like a teacup. Visually, 瓶 uses 并 on the left, 瓮 has 公 on top of 瓦, and 瓯 has 区 on the left.

瓶 is very common for containers like 水瓶 (water bottle) and 花瓶 (vase). It also acts as a measure word, as in 一瓶水 (a bottle of water). Culturally, the idiom 守口如瓶 (shǒu kǒu rú píng) means 'keep one's mouth shut like a bottle'—to keep a secret.

Common words containing 瓶 include: 瓶子 (píng zi) — bottle; 水瓶 (shuǐ píng) — Water bottle; 花瓶 (huā píng) — Vase.