How to Write 溱 (qín) — Meaning “Zhen (name of a river)”

Imagine the Qin dynasty (represented by the right part 秦) building a canal next to a river (the left radical 氵). This river is the Zhen River (溱), so you can remember it as "the Qin river" – even though historically the Qin state was elsewhere, this visual trick helps link the parts.

The left radical 氵 (three dots) should be written close together and aligned vertically. The right part 秦 is dense with many strokes, so keep it compact and balanced; a common mistake is making the bottom of 秦 too wide, which throws off the overall square shape. Remember that 溱 has 13 strokes total.

溱 has the right component 秦 (many strokes, including 禾 and 舛 parts), while 涪 has 咅 (a different phonetic, with 立 on top and 口 below) and 涫 has 官 (with a crown-like top). Meaningwise, 溱 and 涪 are both river names (溱 in Henan, 涪 in Sichuan), but 涫 means "to boil" or "bubbling water," so their usage differs.

溱 is rarely used in daily speech; it appears mainly in historical and geographical contexts, such as the Zhen River (溱水) in Henan province. It is famous from the ancient poem "溱洧" in the Book of Songs (诗经), which describes lovers meeting by the Zhen and Wei rivers, giving it a romantic literary association.

Common words containing 溱 include: 溱溱 (qín qín) — abundant; flourishing; 溱水 (qín shuǐ) — Zhen River; 溱洧 (qín wěi) — Zhen and Wei (two rivers in Henan).