嬉 meaning and stroke order
To enjoy; to play, to amuse oneself
How to write 嬉, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 嬉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) to amuse oneself; to play; to have fun
How 嬉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 喜 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 嬉
嬉 combines 女 (woman) with 喜 (xǐ, joy), which also gives the sound. Picture a girl full of joy, playing and having fun.
嬉 is literary and rarely used alone. It appears mostly in set words like 嬉戏 (xīxì, to frolic) and 嬉笑 (xīxiào, to laugh and play). Example: 孩子们在水边嬉戏。(Háizimen zài shuǐ biān xīxì.) The children are playing by the water.
Common mistake: Learners often read 嬉 as xǐ because of 喜, but 嬉 is first tone xī. Also do not write 喜 alone when you mean 嬉戏. 喜 means happy or to like, while 嬉 means to play.
Common words with 嬉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
嬉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 嬉
How many strokes are in 嬉?
嬉 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嬉 mean?
嬉 (xī) means to enjoy; to play, to amuse oneself. A common word with it is 嬉笑 (xīxiào), meaning "to be laughing and playing; to giggle".
How do you pronounce 嬉?
嬉 is pronounced xī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 嬉?
The radical of 嬉 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 嬉 under this radical.
Is 嬉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 嬉 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 嬉皮笑脸 mean?
嬉皮笑脸 (xīpí xiàoliǎn) describes someone grinning cheekily or acting frivolous when they should be serious. It is usually a criticism, for example of a child who smirks while being scolded.
Can I use 嬉 instead of 玩 in everyday speech?
Not really. In daily conversation people say 玩 (wán) for play. 嬉 sounds written or literary, so it mostly appears in fixed words like 嬉戏 and in descriptive writing.