Word

井 (jǐng) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 6

Meaning of 井

名 míng noun

well

村子里有一口老井。

cūn zi lǐ yǒu yī kǒu lǎo jǐng

There is an old well in the village.

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Word breakdown

井 jǐng — well

1 井底之蛙 jǐng dǐ zhī wā — A frog at the bottom of a well (metaphor for someone with a narrow perspective) HSK 7
- 井 well (a confined, narrow space symbolizing limitation)
- 底 bottom (emphasizes the lowest position, furthest from the wider world)
- 之 of/at (classical possessive/locative particle connecting the location to the subject)
- 蛙 frog (the subject with limited perspective due to confined environment)
Example

不要做井底之蛙，要开阔眼界。

bú yào zuò jǐng dǐ zhī wā yào kāi kuò yǎn jiè

Don't be a frog at the bottom of a well, broaden your horizons.

Structure & writing

1 井 jǐng — well (a deep hole dug into the ground to draw water, often with brick or stone-lined walls)

井 is a component in 4 characters

HSK 2

进 jìn to move forward (opposite of 退)

HSK 3

讲 jiǎng to speak; to talk

HSK 7

耕 gēng to plow (the soil) 阱 jǐng a pit trap for catching wild animals

井 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order