溪 meaning and stroke order
Brook, creek, stream
How to write 溪, stroke by stroke
13 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 溪
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- creek
- rivulet
- variant of 溪[xi1]
How 溪 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 奚 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 溪
The water radical 氵 on the left tells you this is about water, and 奚 (xī) on the right gives the sound. Picture a small stream of water running beside 奚, and say xī like the soft hiss of a creek.
溪 means a small stream or creek, smaller than a 河 (hé) river. It usually appears in words like 小溪 (xiǎoxī) and 溪流 (xīliú), and often in place names and descriptive writing. Example: 山下有一条小溪。(Shān xià yǒu yì tiáo xiǎoxī.) There is a little creek at the foot of the mountain.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 溪 with 鸡 (jī, chicken), whose traditional form 雞 also uses 奚, so check the left side: 氵 means water. Also keep the first tone xī, not qī, even though some speakers in Taiwan say qī.
Common words with 溪
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
溪 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 溪
How many strokes are in 溪?
溪 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 溪 mean?
溪 (xī) means brook, creek, stream. A common word with it is 小溪 (xiǎoxī), meaning "brook; streamlet".
How do you pronounce 溪?
溪 is pronounced xī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 溪?
The radical of 溪 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 溪 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 溪?
The traditional form of 溪 is 谿. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 溪 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 溪 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 溪 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 溪, 河, and 江?
溪 is a small creek or brook, 河 (hé) is a river, and 江 (jiāng) usually refers to a large river such as 长江 (Chángjiāng). Size goes from small to large: 溪, 河, 江.
Which measure word is used with 溪?
Use 条 (tiáo), the measure word for long, thin things. For example, 一条小溪 (yì tiáo xiǎoxī) means one little creek.