銜 meaning and stroke order
Rank, title; to bite, to hold in the mouth
How to write 銜, stroke by stroke
14 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 銜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bit (of a bridle)
- to hold in the mouth
- to harbor (feelings)
- to link
- to accept
- rank
How 銜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Metal.
金 gives the meaning and 行 hints at the sound.
Radical: 金 (gold), shared by 18 characters on this site.
How to remember 銜
Picture a piece of metal 金 (jīn) set inside 行 (xíng), the way a metal bit sits in a horse's mouth as it walks along. The data lists 金 as the meaning part, for the metal bit, and 行 as the sound part.
Today 銜 (simplified 衔) appears mostly in words for rank and connection, such as 头衔 (tóuxián) title, 军衔 (jūnxián) military rank, and 衔接 (xiánjiē) to link up. It can also mean to hold something in the mouth. Example: 小鸟嘴里衔着一根树枝。(Xiǎoniǎo zuǐ li xiánzhe yì gēn shùzhī.) The little bird is holding a twig in its beak.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 銜 with 街 (jiē, street), which also sits inside 行 but has 圭 in the middle instead of 金. Also keep the second tone in xián, and do not read it as háng or xíng because of the 行 outside.
Common words with 銜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 銜
How many strokes are in 銜?
銜 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 銜 mean?
銜 (xián) means rank, title; to bite, to hold in the mouth. A common word with it is 头衔 (tóuxián), meaning "title; rank".
How do you pronounce 銜?
銜 is pronounced xián, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 銜?
The radical of 銜 is 金, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 銜 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 銜?
銜 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 衔, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 衔 and 咬?
咬 (yǎo) means to bite down with force. 衔 means to hold something gently in the mouth or beak without chewing it, like a dog carrying a ball.
How is 衔 used to mean harboring feelings?
In more literary Chinese, 衔 can mean to hold a feeling inside, as in 衔恨 (xiánhèn), to harbor resentment. You will see this mostly in writing, not everyday speech.