How to Write 温 (wēn) — Meaning “Warm or temperature”

Picture a bowl of water (氵) sitting under the sun (日 on top of a dish 皿). The sun warms the water, so the character means 'warm'. This visual of sunlight heating a container helps link the shape to the meaning.

Write the water radical first: three dots in a left-to-right, top-to-bottom diagonal. Then write the right part: first 日 (a narrow sun), then 皿 (a dish with four strokes). A common mistake is making 日 too wide or misplacing the 皿 strokes – keep the right part compact.

温 has a water radical with 昷 (日 over 皿), meaning warm. 流 has a water radical with 㐬 (a flowing child) and means 'to flow'. 浙 has a water radical with 折 (break) and is used for the river name 'Zhejiang'. Their right parts and meanings are completely different.

温 is very common for temperature words like 温度 (temperature) and 温水 (warm water). It also describes a gentle personality in 温和 (mild). Culturally, 温 is associated with moderation and kindness, as seen in idioms like 温文尔雅 (gentle and refined).

Common words containing 温 include: 温度 (wēn dù) — Temperature; 温和 (wēn hé) — Mild or gentle; 温水 (wēn shuǐ) — Warm water.