乡 meaning and stroke order
Country or countryside; native place; home village or town
How to write 乡, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 乡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- country or countryside
- native place
- home village or town
- township (PRC administrative unit)
How 乡 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 幺 (one), shared by 6 characters on this site.
How to remember 乡
乡 is built from 幺 (yāo), which means small or tiny, so picture a small, winding country path leading back to your little home village. The twisting strokes look like a narrow road through the fields.
乡 appears mostly in compound words about the countryside or one's home region, such as 家乡 (jiāxiāng) hometown and 乡下 (xiāngxia) countryside. It is also the name of a township, a small administrative unit in China. Example: 我很想念我的家乡。(Wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn wǒ de jiāxiāng.) I really miss my hometown.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 乡 (xiāng) with 想 (xiǎng, to think or miss) because they sound alike, especially in a phrase like 想家乡. Remember that 乡 is first tone, and 想 is third tone.
Common words with 乡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 家乡 | jiāxiāng | hometown; native place | HSK 3 |
| 故乡 | gùxiāng | home; homeland | HSK 3 |
| 乡村 | xiāngcūn | rustic; village | HSK 5 |
| 老乡 | lǎoxiāng | fellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown | HSK 6 |
| 城乡 | chéng xiāng | city and countryside | HSK 6 |
| 乡下 | xiāngxia | countryside; rural area | HSK 7-9 |
| 乡亲 | xiāngqīn | person from one's hometown or home region; local people; folks | HSK 7-9 |
| 下乡 | xiàxiāng | to go to the countryside | HSK 7-9 |
| 乡巴佬 | xiāngbalǎo | (derog.) country bumpkin; hick | |
| 乡间 | xiāngjiān | in the country; rural | |
| 乡下人 | xiāngxiàrén | country folk; rustic | |
| 乡村音乐 | xiāngcūnyīnyuè | country music (country & western music genre) | |
| 梦乡 | mèngxiāng | the land of dreams; slumberland | |
| 同乡 | tóngxiāng | person from the same hometown or home region |
乡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 乡
Learning 乡 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 乡
How many strokes are in 乡?
乡 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 乡 mean?
乡 (xiāng) means country or countryside; native place; home village or town. A common word with it is 家乡 (jiāxiāng), meaning "hometown; native place".
How do you pronounce 乡?
乡 is pronounced xiāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 乡?
The radical of 乡 is 幺, which carries the idea of "one". Dictionaries list 乡 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 乡?
The traditional form of 乡 is 鄉. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 乡 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 乡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 乡 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 家乡 and 故乡?
Both mean hometown. 家乡 (jiāxiāng) is the everyday word, while 故乡 (gùxiāng) sounds more literary and emotional and is common in songs and poems.
What does 老乡 mean when someone calls you that?
老乡 (lǎoxiāng) means a person from the same hometown or region as you. People use it warmly when they meet someone from the same place far from home, and in some areas it is also a friendly way to address villagers.