息 meaning and stroke order
To end, to cease, to put a stop to; pause, breath, rest; news
How to write 息, stroke by stroke
10 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 息
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) breath
- (bound form) to cease; to stop
- (bound form) to rest
- (bound form) news
- (bound form) interest (on money)
- (bound form) to grow; to multiply
How 息 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To breathe (life, 心) through one's nose 自; 心 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 心 (heart), shared by 97 characters on this site.
How to remember 息
息 stacks 自 (zì), which originally pictured a nose, on top of 心 (xīn), the heart. Breath passes through the nose and keeps the heart alive, so 息 means breath, and taking a breath means to rest.
息 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese and mostly appears in words like 休息 (xiūxi, to rest), 消息 (xiāoxi, news) and 信息 (xìnxī, information). Example: 我们休息一下吧。(Wǒmen xiūxi yíxià ba.) Let's take a short rest.
Common mistake: In 休息 and 消息 the 息 is usually said in the neutral tone (xiūxi, xiāoxi), but in 信息 and 利息 it keeps its first tone (xìnxī, lìxī). Also do not write the top as 白 (bái). It is 自, which has one more horizontal stroke inside.
Common words with 息
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 休息 | xiūxi | rest; to rest | HSK 1 |
| 信息 | xìnxī | information; news; message | HSK 2 |
| 消息 | xiāoxi | (piece of) news; information; message | HSK 3 |
| 利息 | lìxī | interest (on a loan) | HSK 4 |
| 窒息 | zhìxī | to choke; to stifle | HSK 7-9 |
| 气息 | qìxī | breath; smell | HSK 7-9 |
| 平息 | píngxī | (of wind etc) to subside; to die down; to quell; to smooth over (a dispute etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 喘息 | chuǎnxī | to gasp for breath; to take a breather | HSK 7-9 |
| 出息 | chūxi | to yield interest, profit etc; to exhale (Buddhism) | HSK 7-9 |
| 息息相关 | xīxī-xiāngguān | closely bound up (idiom); intimately related | HSK 7-9 |
| 川流不息 | chuānliú-bùxī | the stream flows without stopping (idiom); unending flow | HSK 7-9 |
| 经久不息 | jīngjiǔ-bùxī | (idiom) prolonged (applause, cheering etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 自强不息 | zìqiáng-bùxī | to strive unremittingly; self-improvement | HSK 7-9 |
| 讯息 | xùnxī | information; news; message; text message; SMS |
息 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 息
Learning 息 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 息
How many strokes are in 息?
息 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 息 mean?
息 (xī) means to end, to cease, to put a stop to; pause, breath, rest; news. A common word with it is 休息 (xiūxi), meaning "rest; to rest".
How do you pronounce 息?
息 is pronounced xī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 息?
The radical of 息 is 心, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 息 under this radical.
Is 息 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 息 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How are 息 meaning 'breath' and 息 meaning 'news' or 'interest' connected?
The senses grew out of the idea of something that lives and grows. 息 can mean to grow or multiply, so money that grows on a loan is 利息 (lìxī). News that spreads is 消息 (xiāoxi), literally 'fading and growing', that is, how things change.
What is the difference between 消息 and 信息?
消息 (xiāoxi) is a piece of news about something or someone, like 好消息 (hǎo xiāoxi, good news). 信息 (xìnxī) is more general and technical. It means information or data, and it is also used for text messages.