鲜 meaning and stroke order
Fresh; bright (in color); delicious
How to write 鲜, 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 鲜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- fresh
- bright (in color)
- delicious
- tasty
- delicacy
- aquatic foods
- few
- rare
- variant of 鮮|鲜[xian3]
- variant of 尟|鲜[xian3]
- old variant of 鮮|鲜[xian3]
How 鲜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
鱼 gives the meaning and 羊 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鱼 (fish), shared by 79 characters on this site.
How to remember 鲜
鲜 puts 鱼 (yú, fish) next to 羊 (yáng, sheep). Fish is the meaning part and 羊 is the sound part, so picture a meal of fish and lamb that is as fresh and tasty as food gets.
鲜 (xiān) most often means fresh or bright, and it appears mainly in words like 新鲜 (xīnxiān), 海鲜 (hǎixiān) and 鲜花 (xiānhuā). It also describes vivid colors, as in 鲜艳 (xiānyàn). Example: 这里的海鲜很新鲜。(Zhèlǐ de hǎixiān hěn xīnxiān.) The seafood here is very fresh.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the left side as 鱼 with the wrong bottom stroke or swap the two parts, putting 羊 on the left. Also remember that 鲜 alone is rarely used as an adjective in speech. Say 很新鲜 (hěn xīnxiān), not 很鲜 when you mean fresh food in general.
Common words with 鲜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 新鲜 | xīnxiān | fresh (experience, food etc); freshness | HSK 4 |
| 鲜花 | xiānhuā | flower; fresh flowers | HSK 4 |
| 海鲜 | hǎixiān | seafood | HSK 4 |
| 鲜明 | xiānmíng | (of colors) bright; fresh and clear; clear-cut; distinct | HSK 4 |
| 鲜艳 | xiānyàn | bright-colored; gaily-colored | HSK 5 |
| 鲜血 | xiānxuè | blood | HSK 7-9 |
| 鲜活 | xiānhuó | vivid; lively; (of food ingredients) live or fresh | HSK 7-9 |
| 保鲜 | bǎoxiān | to keep fresh; to preserve freshness | HSK 7-9 |
| 鲜美 | xiānměi | fresh and delicious; tasty | HSK 7-9 |
| 光鲜 | guāngxiān | bright and neat | |
| 鲜红 | xiānhóng | scarlet; bright red | |
| 鲜奶油 | xiānnǎiyóu | cream; whipped cream |
鲜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 鲜
Learning 鲜 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 鲜
How many strokes are in 鲜?
鲜 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 鲜 mean?
鲜 (xiān) means fresh; bright (in color); delicious. A common word with it is 新鲜 (xīnxiān), meaning "fresh (experience, food etc); freshness".
How do you pronounce 鲜?
鲜 is pronounced xiān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鲜?
The radical of 鲜 is 鱼, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鲜 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鲜?
The traditional form of 鲜 is 尟, 尠, 鮮 and 鱻. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鲜 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 鲜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 鲜 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
When is 鲜 pronounced xiǎn instead of xiān?
In the third tone, xiǎn means few or rare. You mostly see it in formal set phrases like 鲜为人知 (xiǎn wéi rén zhī), little known to people.
Can 鲜 mean tasty on its own?
Yes. In speech, 鲜 can describe a savory, umami flavor, especially for soup or seafood, as in 这汤真鲜 (zhè tāng zhēn xiān), this soup is really savory.