县 meaning and stroke order
County; (Japan) prefecture
How to write 县, stroke by stroke
7 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
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 县
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- county
- (Japan) prefecture
How 县 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 厶 (private), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 县
县 (xiàn) is built from 且 on top and 厶 below. Picture 且 as a stack of shelves holding the county records, with a small 厶 official sitting underneath to run the county.
县 means a county, the administrative level below a province or city in China. It often follows a place name, as in 昌平县. Example: 他是这个县的县长。(Tā shì zhège xiàn de xiànzhǎng.) He is the head of this county.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the top as 目 or forget the bottom stroke of 且, which makes the character look wrong. Also keep the fourth tone xiàn and do not confuse it with 现 (xiàn, now) or 线 (xiàn, line), which sound the same.
Common words with 县
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 县长 | xiànzhǎng | county's head commissioner |
县 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 县
Learning 县 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 县
How many strokes are in 县?
县 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 县 mean?
县 (xiàn) means county; (Japan) prefecture. A common word with it is 县长 (xiànzhǎng), meaning "county's head commissioner".
How do you pronounce 县?
县 is pronounced xiàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 县?
The radical of 县 is 厶, which carries the idea of "private". Dictionaries list 县 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 县?
The traditional form of 县 is 縣. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 县 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 县 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 县 is part of the HSK 4 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 县 and 市 in Chinese place names?
市 (shì) means city, and 县 (xiàn) means county, which is usually more rural. Many former counties have been converted into county-level cities, so you will see both.
Why does 县 mean prefecture for Japan?
Japanese uses the same character, 県 (ken), for its prefectures such as 大阪府 and 千叶县. In Chinese these are written with 县, so 千叶县 (Qiānyè Xiàn) means Chiba Prefecture.