How to Write 浈 (zhēn) — Meaning “Zhen (used in river and place names)”

Imagine "贞" as a person standing firmly by a river (氵). The person (贞) is named Zhen and lives near the water, so the character 浈 represents a river associated with that name.

When writing 浈, start with the water radical on the left, which has three dots: note that the middle dot is slightly higher. The right side 贞 has a horizontal stroke at the top; make sure the bottom horizontal is the longest and the two vertical strokes are balanced.

浈 uses the water radical 氵 and the phonetic 贞, meaning a place name. 㳄 is a rare character also with water but includes a different component (欠), and 汧 uses 氵 with 开 (qiān) and refers to a specific ancient river. Their meanings and pronunciations are distinct.

浈 is not common in everyday vocabulary; it appears mainly in the names of Chinese rivers and districts, such as 浈江 (Zhen River) and 浈江区 (Zhenjiang District in Shaoguan, Guangdong). Knowing it helps when reading about geography in southern China.

Common words containing 浈 include: 浈江 (zhēn jiāng) — Zhen River (Zhenjiang); 浈水 (zhēn shuǐ) — Zhen River (Zhenshui); 浈江区 (zhēn jiāng qū) — Zhenjiang District.