笺 jiān — note; stationery · English

笺

jiān

note; stationery

At a glance · 笺

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从竹，戋声，本义为小幅华美的纸（书札）。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为精美小幅纸笺、书札。

Structure

形声字，从竹（意符，竹简纸），戋（jiān）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinjiān

Radical竹

Strokes11

UnicodeU+7B3A

Character type形声

Theme器物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English note; stationery A small note or fine stationery.

Français note; papier Une petite note ou beau papier.

Español nota; papel Una nota pequeña o papel fino.

العربية مذكرة؛ ورق مذكرة صغيرة أو ورق ناعم.

Русский записка; бумага Маленькая записка или тонкая бумага.

Common words

笺jiānnote
信笺xìn jiānletter paper

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