How to Write 骞 (qiān) — Meaning “To soar or lift”

Imagine a horse (马) that is so fast it breaks through the cold sky (寒) and soars upward. Picture the horse galloping on a frozen cloud, rising higher and higher to remember that 骞 means 'to soar'.

The top part 马 is narrow and sits centered above the wide 寒. Ensure the bottom 寒 has four clear horizontal strokes (two 横 and two 点) and that the final 丶 dots are balanced. A common mistake is making the top 马 too wide, which ruins the character's proportions.

骞 means 'to soar', while 骐 (qí) refers to a dark blue horse and 骑 (qí) means 'to ride a horse'. Visually, 骞 has 寒 underneath, whereas 骐 has 其 on the right and 骑 has 奇 on the right. Their meanings are unrelated despite sharing the 马 radical.

骞 is rarely used alone in daily speech but appears in classical or literary contexts to describe soaring or galloping upward, as in 骞腾 (to soar) or 骞举 (to fly high). It is not part of HSK vocabulary and is mostly found in poetry or historical texts.

Common words containing 骞 include: 骞腾 (qiān téng) — To soar or gallop upward; 骞举 (qiān jǔ) — To soar high; 骞飞 (qiān fēi) — To soar and fly.