钱
money
HSK level
- Pinyin
- qián
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 10
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 笔 / 块
- In episodes
- 6
Stroke order for 钱
钱 is written with 10 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 钱 mean?
钱 (qián) is the Chinese word for 'money' — the all-purpose noun for currency, payment, and wealth.
The most important HSK 1 use is in the question 多少钱? (duōshǎo qián, 'how much money / how much does it cost?'), the single most useful sentence for any traveler in China. Two things to know: first, in real conversation, 钱 is often DROPPED from prices — when someone says 多少钱?, the answer is usually just '十块' (ten yuan), not '十块钱'; 钱 only appears for emphasis or in writing; second, 钱 is also a very common Chinese surname (e.
g., 钱学森, the famous scientist). The character has the 钅 (metal) radical, a reminder that money originally meant metal coins. In modern China, almost no one carries 钱 — payment is done by WeChat Pay or Alipay.
Memory hook: 钱 has the 钅 'metal' radical on the left — money started as metal coins, and the radical reminds you.
Hear 钱 in real episodes
钱 appears in 6 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed, 4 of them below. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
除了帽子，有眼镜，也有钱。
Besides hats, they found glasses and money.
Yellowstone Finds Over 280 Hats in Hot-Spring Areas
钱这么多，是一个什么手机？
So much money, what kind of phone is this?
iPhone Duo Starts at $1,999; On Sale Oct 23
今天，我们说钱。
Today we are talking about money.
Pokémon Cards as Doomsday Money
今天，我们说钱。
Today we are talking about money.
Phone Calls Stole $245 Million in Crypto
Example sentences
这个多少钱？
Zhège duōshǎo qián?
How much is this?
spoken
我没有钱。
Wǒ méiyǒu qián.
I don't have money.
neutral
他很有钱。
Tā hěn yǒu qián.
He's very rich.
spoken
我不想花钱。
Wǒ bù xiǎng huā qián.
I don't want to spend money.
spoken
Common phrases with 钱
Synonyms
钞票 specifically means 'paper money / banknotes,' not the abstract concept. 钱 is the general word. You'd say 我没钱 'I have no money,' not 我没钞票.
Don't confuse 钱 with
前 (same pinyin, same tone) means 'front / before / ago' (以前 'before,' 前面 'in front'). Identical sound to 钱; only context and the character distinguish them. Common beginner typo.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 钱 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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