How to Write 汧 (qiān) — Meaning “Qian (name of a river)”

Imagine the Qian River is so wide and open that you can see the water flowing freely — think of the water radical 氵 combined with 开 meaning "open." This picture of a broad, open river will help you recall that 汧 is the name of that river.

Write the water radical 氵 first with three strokes (dot, dot, lift), then the right part 开 with four strokes: horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, vertical. Keep the left radical narrow and the right part slightly wider, and be careful not to add extra strokes to the right side as in the traditional character 開.

Visually, 汧 has 开 on the right, while 㳄 has a different right component that looks like 欠 (often meaning "to owe" or "yawn") and 氿 has 九 (the number nine) on the right. In meaning, 汧 is only used as a river name, whereas 氿 can mean a spring or another river name, and 㳄 is an ancient character for saliva or drooling.

汧 is not part of common vocabulary or HSK, but it appears in place names like 汧河 and 汧阳 in Shaanxi Province. The Qian River is a historical tributary of the Wei River, so you may see it in texts about ancient Chinese geography or regional history.

Common words containing 汧 include: 汧河 (qiān hé) — Qian River; 汧水 (qiān shuǐ) — Qian River; 汧阳 (qiān yáng) — Qianyang (a county in Shaanxi).