青

qīng
HSK 5
#497 most
frequent character
nature's color, green or blue
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

青 first meant 'green of sprouts.' 龶 was originally 屮, a picture of new plants, and ⺝ was 井 jǐng, which gave the sound. The meaning grew to 'vegetation', 'young', 'blue', and 'black.' The last step notes that color categories differ by culture.

Drawn as: sprouting vegetation

青 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
靛
sound19 characters
情清请精静睛猜晴靖菁蜻氰靓锖鲭腈
picture2 characters
倩婧

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Example Sentences

这棵树的叶子很青。
zhè kē shù de yèzi hěn qīng 。
The leaves of this tree are very green.
他的衣服是青色的。
tāde yīfú shì qīngsè de 。
His clothes are blue.
这个青少年非常聪明。
zhègè qīngshàonián fēicháng cōngmíng 。
This young person is very smart.

Words with similar meanings

绿lǜ
green
A more specific term primarily used to refer to the color associated with grass and leaves.
蓝lán
blue
Used to describe the color of the sky or ocean, sometimes considered a variation of '青'.
年轻niánqīng
young
Refers to the state of being young, often used to describe people.

Homophones

HSK 4
轻qīng
light, easy, gentle, soft, reckless
HSK 6
氢qīng
hydrogen (chemistry)
清qīng
clear, quiet, distinct, thoroughly
倾qīng
to overturn, to collapse, to lean

Words Starting With 青

青少年qīng shào nián
an adolescent; a youth; young person; teenage; teenager
青春qīng chūn
youth; youthfulness

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Public Lists with 青

Colors & Shapes
Vocabulary for basic colors, color shades, and geometric shapes.
HSK 5
All words for the HSK 5 test
Common Adjectives
Descriptive words for size, quality, temperature, mood, and more.
Plants
Trees, flowers, crops, herbs, and other plant-related terms.
Environment & Nature
Landforms, habitats, ecological topics, and environmental issues.