械 meaning and stroke order
Weapons; tools; instruments
How to write 械, stroke by stroke
11 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
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- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 械
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- appliance
- tool
- weapon
- shackles
- also pr. [jie4]
How 械 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 戒 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 械
械 combines 木 (wood) with 戒 (jiè), which gives the sound. Picture tools and weapons that were once made with wooden handles and frames, and remember that 戒 sounds close to xiè.
械 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in words like 机械 (jīxiè, machinery), 器械 (qìxiè, apparatus) and 枪械 (qiāngxiè, firearms). Example: 他是一名机械师。(Tā shì yì míng jīxièshī.) He is a mechanic.
Common mistake: Learners often read 械 as jiè because of its phonetic part 戒 (jiè). In standard Mandarin it is xiè, with a fourth tone. Also, do not confuse it with 戒 alone, which means to guard against or to quit, as in 戒烟 (jièyān, to quit smoking).
Common words with 械
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
械 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 械
How many strokes are in 械?
械 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 械 mean?
械 (xiè) means weapons; tools; instruments. A common word with it is 机械 (jīxiè), meaning "machine; machinery".
How do you pronounce 械?
械 is pronounced xiè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 械?
The radical of 械 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 械 under this radical.
Is 械 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 械 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 机械 mean when used to describe a person or action?
Besides meaning machinery, 机械 can describe something rigid or mechanical, like doing things by rote. For example, 他的回答很机械 means his answer was stiff and mechanical.
What is the difference between 器械 and 机械?
机械 usually means machines with moving parts, like engines or factory equipment. 器械 is broader and covers instruments and apparatus, such as 医疗器械 (yīliáo qìxiè, medical equipment) or 健身器械 (jiànshēn qìxiè, gym equipment).