涎 meaning and stroke order
Saliva
How to write 涎, stroke by stroke
9 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
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 涎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- saliva
- variant of 涎[xian2]
How 涎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 延 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 涎
The water radical 氵 shows a liquid, and 延 (yán, to extend) gives the sound and a helpful picture: saliva is the water that stretches out of your mouth in a long string when you drool.
涎 (xián) is a written or formal word for saliva, and it mostly appears in set words rather than on its own. The most common is 垂涎 (chuíxián), which can mean literally drooling or figuratively coveting something. Example: 他对那块蛋糕垂涎三尺。(Tā duì nà kuài dàngāo chuíxián sān chǐ.) He is drooling over that piece of cake.
Common mistake: Learners often read 涎 as yán because of the phonetic part 延, but the correct reading is xián with a second tone. Also do not confuse it with 诞 (dàn, birth), which has the same right side but the speech radical 讠.
Common words with 涎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 垂涎 | chuíxián | to drool; to salivate; (fig.) to covet; to desire greedily |
涎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 涎
How many strokes are in 涎?
涎 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 涎 mean?
涎 (xián) means saliva. A common word with it is 垂涎 (chuíxián), meaning "to drool; to salivate; (fig.) to covet; to desire greedily".
How do you pronounce 涎?
涎 is pronounced xián, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 涎?
The radical of 涎 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 涎 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 涎?
The traditional form of 涎 is 㳄. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 涎 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 涎 the normal word for saliva in everyday Chinese?
No. In daily speech people usually say 口水 (kǒushuǐ), and in medical or scientific contexts 唾液 (tuòyè) is common. 涎 mainly shows up in fixed expressions like 垂涎.
What does 垂涎三尺 mean?
垂涎三尺 (chuíxián sān chǐ) literally means drooling three feet long. It describes wanting something very badly, often food or something belonging to someone else, and it can sound slightly negative when used for greed.