谿 meaning and stroke order
Valley, gorge; mountain stream
How to write 谿, stroke by stroke
17 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 谿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- variant of 溪[xi1]
How 谿 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Valley.
谷 gives the meaning and 奚 hints at the sound.
Radical: 谷 (valley), shared by 4 characters on this site.
How to remember 谿
谿 combines 奚 (xī), which gives the sound, with 谷 (gǔ, valley), which gives the meaning. Picture a stream running down through a 谷 valley, and the 奚 on the left tells you to say xī.
谿 is a variant of 溪 (xī, stream), and today it mostly appears in classical texts, old place names, and personal names. In everyday modern Chinese, people write 溪 instead. Example: 山谿 (shān xī) means a mountain stream or ravine, though modern writing would usually use 山溪.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 谿 in modern contexts where 溪 is the standard form. For words like 小溪 (xiǎo xī, brook), use 溪 with the water radical 氵. Also do not confuse the right side 谷 with 欠 or 容.
Questions about 谿
How many strokes are in 谿?
谿 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 谿 mean?
谿 (xī) means valley, gorge; mountain stream.
How do you pronounce 谿?
谿 is pronounced xī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 谿?
The radical of 谿 is 谷, which carries the idea of "valley". Dictionaries list 谿 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 谿?
谿 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 溪, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 谿 the same character as 溪?
In meaning, yes. 谿 is listed as a variant of 溪, and both are read xī. 谿 emphasizes the valley through 谷, while 溪 emphasizes the water through 氵.
Where might I actually see 谿 today?
You are most likely to see it in classical poetry, older books, and some traditional place names or names of people. Standard modern Mainland writing uses 溪 in its place.