blue
qīng (qing1)
Radical no. 174 · 8 strokes (第 174 部首 · 8 画 dì 174 bùshǒu · 8 huà)
Radical ⾭ (qīng) — meaning: blue, 8 strokes.
Origin & mnemonic
This radical originates from a pictograph in oracle-bone script depicting blue-green color or a woven plant trap with water waves beneath, representing the natural blend of blue. Over time, it evolved into its modern form to denote blue, green, or any shade of green. In seal script, the character shows a structure resembling a plant trap with water, which was later simplified into the modern regular script form to represent blue-green and related concepts.
Mnemonic: A cross-like shape with two leaves on top—like green foliage growing from the verdant earth of nature.
Characters with this radical (含此部首的字 hán cǐ bùshǒu de zì)
2 charactersRelated radicals (相关部首 xiāngguān bùshǒu)
Same stroke count or numerically adjacent in the 214-radical set.