How to Write 靑 (qīng) — Meaning “blue; green; cyan”

Picture the top part 生 as a young plant sprouting, and the bottom part 丹 as a jar of blue-green paint. The plant grows because of the paint, giving you the color of youth and nature. This helps link the character to its meaning of blue, green, or cyan.

Write with 8 strokes in this order: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, then a vertical hook, two horizontals, and a final vertical. A common mistake is making the bottom enclosure too wide or forgetting the second horizontal inside it. Keep the top part 生 narrow and the bottom part balanced.

青春 (qīng chūn) means 'youth' and is used in phrases like 青春年华 (youthful years). 青年 (qīng nián) refers to 'young people' in formal settings, and 青菜 (qīng cài) means 'green vegetables' — a daily food word. These expressions all connect 靑 to freshness, youth, or green color.

靑 is the traditional variant of 青, so in mainland China the simplified 青 is more common. 靑 still appears in classical texts, calligraphy, and some personal or brand names for a classical feel. In Japanese Kanji, 靑 is also used, and it carries cultural associations with nature, youth, and the color cyan.

Common words containing 靑 include: 靑春 (qīng chūn) — youth; youthfulness; 靑年 (qīng nián) — youth; young people; 靑菜 (qīng cài) — green vegetables.