鄉 meaning and stroke order
Country, village; rural
How to write 鄉, 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 鄉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- country or countryside
- native place
- home village or town
- township (PRC administrative unit)
How 鄉 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Two people 乡 and ⻏ hunched over a meal 良.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 鄉
Picture two people, 乡 on the left and ⻏ on the right, hunched over a shared meal 良 in the middle. Sharing food with neighbors is what life in a home village feels like.
鄉 (xiāng) is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It appears in words about the countryside and one's hometown, such as 家鄉 (jiāxiāng) and 鄉下 (xiāngxia). Example: 我很想念我的家鄉。(Wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn wǒ de jiāxiāng.) I really miss my hometown.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 鄉 with 郎 (láng, young man), since 郎 makes up most of its right side. Remember that 鄉 has an extra 乡 piece on the left and that the middle part is closer to 良.
Common words with 鄉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 家鄉 | jiāxiāng | hometown; native place | HSK 3 |
| 故鄉 | gùxiāng | home; homeland | HSK 3 |
| 鄉村 | xiāngcūn | rustic; village | HSK 5 |
| 老鄉 | lǎoxiāng | fellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown | HSK 6 |
| 城鄉 | chéng xiāng | city and countryside | HSK 6 |
| 鄉下 | xiāngxia | countryside; rural area | HSK 7-9 |
| 鄉親 | xiāngqīn | person from one's hometown or home region; local people; folks | HSK 7-9 |
| 下鄉 | xiàxiāng | to go to the countryside | HSK 7-9 |
| 鄉巴佬 | xiāngbalǎo | (derog.) country bumpkin; hick | |
| 鄉間 | xiāngjiān | in the country; rural | |
| 鄉下人 | xiāngxiàrén | country folk; rustic | |
| 鄉村音樂 | xiāngcūnyīnyuè | country music (country & western music genre) | |
| 夢鄉 | mèngxiāng | the land of dreams; slumberland | |
| 同鄉 | tóngxiāng | person from the same hometown or home region |
Characters that contain 鄉
Learning 鄉 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 鄉
How many strokes are in 鄉?
鄉 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 鄉 mean?
鄉 (xiāng) means country, village; rural. A common word with it is 家乡 (jiāxiāng), meaning "hometown; native place".
How do you pronounce 鄉?
鄉 is pronounced xiāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鄉?
The radical of 鄉 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 鄉 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鄉?
鄉 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 乡, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 家鄉 and 故鄉?
Both mean hometown. 家鄉 (jiāxiāng) is everyday and neutral, while 故鄉 (gùxiāng) sounds more literary and nostalgic, often used in writing or songs.
What does 老鄉 mean, and is it about old people?
No. 老鄉 (lǎoxiāng) means someone from the same hometown or region as you. The 老 here adds familiarity, not age, so a young classmate from your province is also your 老鄉.