精

精 · jīng

essence; semen; spirit

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

essence; semen; spirit

Mandarin
jīng
Cantonese
zing1

Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 精 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.

Japanese 日本語

Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.

On’yomi · katakana

セイショウ

Kun’yomi · hiragana

くわしい

Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property

セイ ショウ くわしい

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

정

Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.

Reading sources explained
정
KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

정:0E

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

tinh

Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kVietnamese ↗ · provisional property

tinh

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+7CBE
Radical
米 · 119
Strokes
14 · Unihan
Residual
8

Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.

Stroke order

14 strokes
精
Strokes
14
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

14 strokes in writing order. Play to watch them, or Step through one at a time.

Modern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.

Graphical structure

⿰米青(GHTJV)
⿰米靑(KP[S])
How to read these symbols

⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.

BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.

Words & connections

Words using 精

Character connections

No reverse component match in this collection.

History & distinctions

Related forms

No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.

Historical readings

Middle Chinese
tsjeng · 子盈 反切 · #910
Middle Chinese
tsjengH · 子姓 反切 · #2990

Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 7238 · tsjeng = 梗開三平清精 · tsjengH = 梗開三去清精

Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗

Sources & reference

Evidence & next depth

Source editions & exact scope ↗
Retained Unihan properties
kMandarin
jīng
kCantonese
zing1
kDefinition
essence; semen; spirit
kTotalStrokes
14
kRSUnicode
119.8
kGradeLevel
3
kTGH
2013:3153

Old Chinese · reconstruction

jīng
*tseŋ
MC tsjeng · GSR 0812g'

Baxter & Sagart 2014 · p.109. Model-specific reconstructions; * and uncertainty brackets are preserved.

Compare the selected GSR 0812 records ↗

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
jīng,qíng,jìng 53150.110
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
jīng 0595.050
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Find examples using 精 ↗

The attributed sentence collection is still small; this spelling has no retained example yet.

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
258dictionary records using 精0forms using this shape0attributed sound links
⿰ Left / right

Shape description
米 beside 青 · the shape used in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam
Source notation ^⿰米青$(GHTJV)
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 258 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿰米青$(GHTJV)

^⿰米靑$(KP[S])

All alternatives are retained. Only the first description drives component search and graphical links. Counts describe this snapshot, not frequency. Evidence and method.