狹 meaning and stroke order
Narrow, limited; narrow-minded
How to write 狹, 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 狹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- narrow
- narrow-minded
How 狹 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.
犭 gives the meaning and 夾 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 狹
狹 is pictophonetic: the dog radical 犭 gives the meaning side and 夾 (jiā, to squeeze between) hints at the sound. Picture a dog 犭 squeezed 夾 into a tight gap, so the space is narrow.
狹 is a traditional form and rarely stands alone. It appears in compounds like 狹窄 (xiázhǎi), 狹小 (xiáxiǎo), and 狹隘 (xiá'ài), which can describe both physical spaces and narrow thinking. Example: 這條巷子很狹窄。(Zhè tiáo xiàngzi hěn xiázhǎi.) This alley is very narrow.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 狹 with 俠 (xiá, hero), which shares 夾 and the same sound but uses the person radical 亻. Some also read it jiā because of 夾, but 狹 is always xiá in the second tone.
Common words with 狹
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 狹
How many strokes are in 狹?
狹 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 狹 mean?
狹 (xiá) means narrow, limited; narrow-minded. A common word with it is 狭窄 (xiázhǎi), meaning "narrow".
How do you pronounce 狹?
狹 is pronounced xiá, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 狹?
The radical of 狹 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 狹 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 狹?
狹 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 狭, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 狹窄 and 狹隘?
狹窄 (xiázhǎi) is the everyday word for physically narrow roads or rooms, and can also mean narrow in scope. 狹隘 (xiá'ài) is more formal and is very often used for narrow-minded views or attitudes, as in 心胸狹隘 (xīnxiōng xiá'ài).
What is the opposite of 狹?
The usual opposite is 寬 (kuān, wide) or 廣 (guǎng, broad). For example, 狹窄 contrasts with 寬闊 (kuānkuò), and the set phrase 狹義 (xiáyì, narrow sense) contrasts with 廣義 (guǎngyì, broad sense).