谐 meaning and stroke order
To joke, to jest; to harmonize, to agree
How to write 谐, 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 谐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) harmonious
- (bound form) humorous
- (literary) to reach agreement
How 谐 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
讠 gives the meaning and 皆 hints at the sound.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 谐
谐 combines 讠 (speech) with 皆 (jiē, all). When all voices speak together in tune, you get harmony, and when speech makes everyone laugh together, you get humor.
谐 is a bound form, so it appears inside words rather than alone. The most common words are 和谐 (héxié, harmonious) and 谐音 (xiéyīn, homophone), and it also appears in 诙谐 (huīxié, humorous). Example: 我们家很和谐。 (Wǒmen jiā hěn héxié.) Our family is very harmonious.
Common mistake: Learners often read 谐 as jiē because of its phonetic part 皆, but the correct reading is xié with a second tone. Also do not confuse it with 揩 (kāi, to wipe), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of 讠.
Common words with 谐
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
谐 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 谐
How many strokes are in 谐?
谐 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 谐 mean?
谐 (xié) means to joke, to jest; to harmonize, to agree. A common word with it is 和谐 (héxié), meaning "harmonious; harmony".
How do you pronounce 谐?
谐 is pronounced xié, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 谐?
The radical of 谐 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 谐 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 谐?
The traditional form of 谐 is 諧. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 谐 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 谐 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 谐 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why are homophones so important in Chinese culture?
Many customs rely on 谐音 (xiéyīn). For example, fish 鱼 (yú) is eaten at New Year because it sounds like 余 (yú, surplus), and the number 4 四 (sì) is avoided because it sounds like 死 (sǐ, death).
Can I use 谐 by itself to say something is funny?
No. On its own it sounds literary or incomplete. Use 幽默 (yōumò) or 好笑 (hǎoxiào) in daily speech, or 诙谐 (huīxié) in more written style.