How to Write 岍 (qiān) — Meaning “Qian (name of a mountain)”

Imagine a mountain (山) that has a wide, open (开) path on its side, leading up to the peak. This open path makes it easy to remember that 岍 is the name of a mountain (Qian). You can also think of "Kai" as a person hiking on a mountain.

Write the 山 radical first, with three strokes: vertical, then left and right peaks, keeping it narrow. Then add 开: start with the horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes and a second horizontal, making sure the right side is balanced and not too wide. A common mistake is making the 山 too big; it should occupy about one-third of the character's width.

岍 (qiān) is a proper name for a mountain or river, while 屹 (yì) means "towering" or "standing tall" and describes something majestic, like a peak. 屺 (qǐ) refers to a barren hill without trees; visually, 岍 has 开 on the right, 屹 has 乞, and 屺 has 己. Their meanings are completely different despite sharing the 山 radical.

岍 is rarely used today except in ancient place names like 岍山 (Mount Qian) and 岍水 (Qian River), mostly found in historical geographic texts. It appears in classical literature and is sometimes referenced in the name of the Qianlong (岍陇) area in Gansu. For most learners, you only need to recognize it as a proper mountain name, not a common vocabulary word.

Common words containing 岍 include: 岍山 (qiān shān) — Mount Qian; 岍水 (qiān shuǐ) — Qian River; 岍陇 (qiān lǒng) — Qianlong area.