衅 meaning and stroke order
To quarrel, to dispute; a blood sacrifice
How to write 衅, 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.
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Meaning of 衅
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- quarrel
- dispute
- a blood sacrifice (arch.)
How 衅 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Blood.
血 gives the meaning and 半 hints at the sound.
Radical: 血 (blood), shared by 5 characters on this site.
How to remember 衅
衅 puts blood 血 (xuè) next to half 半 (bàn). Picture a fight that has already drawn blood and split two sides in half, and you have a quarrel or provocation.
In modern Chinese 衅 almost never appears alone. It lives in formal words like 挑衅 (tiǎoxìn), to provoke, which shows up often in news and politics. Example: 他故意挑衅对方。(Tā gùyì tiǎoxìn duìfāng.) He deliberately provoked the other side.
Common mistake: Learners often read 衅 as bàn because of the 半 component, but it is pronounced xìn with a falling fourth tone. Also, the left side is 血 with a dot on top, not 皿 (mǐn, dish).
Common words with 衅
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 挑衅 | tiǎoxìn | to provoke; provocation | HSK 7-9 |
衅 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 衅
How many strokes are in 衅?
衅 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 衅 mean?
衅 (xìn) means to quarrel, to dispute; a blood sacrifice. A common word with it is 挑衅 (tiǎoxìn), meaning "to provoke; provocation".
How do you pronounce 衅?
衅 is pronounced xìn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 衅?
The radical of 衅 is 血, which carries the idea of "blood". Dictionaries list 衅 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 衅?
The traditional form of 衅 is 釁. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 衅 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 衅 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 衅 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 寻衅 mean and how is it different from 挑衅?
寻衅 (xúnxìn) means to look for a fight or pick a quarrel, and it is common in the legal phrase 寻衅滋事 (xúnxìn zīshì), picking quarrels and stirring up trouble. 挑衅 focuses more on the act of provoking someone, and it is used for people, groups, and countries.
Why does a character about quarrels contain blood?
衅 originally referred to an ancient rite of smearing sacrificial blood on new vessels or drums, which is why 血 is the meaning part. The sense of a rift or quarrel came later, and today that is the main meaning.