鹹 meaning and stroke order
All, together, united; salted
How to write 鹹, stroke by stroke
20 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 鹹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- salted
- salty
- stingy
- miserly
How 鹹 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Salt.
鹵 gives the meaning and 咸 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鹵 (salt), shared by 4 characters on this site.
How to remember 鹹
On the left is 鹵 (lǔ), which relates to salt, and on the right is 咸 (xián), which gives the sound. Picture a bag of salt 鹵 sitting next to the sound xián, and you get the taste "salty."
鹹 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong to describe salty food. In mainland China it is written 咸, which also keeps the old meaning "all, together." Example: 這個湯太鹹了。(Zhège tāng tài xián le.) This soup is too salty.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the 鹵 side and write only 咸, which is correct in simplified Chinese but looks incomplete in traditional texts. Also keep the second tone in xián, and do not confuse it with 閒/闲 (xián, idle), which sounds the same.
Common words with 鹹
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鹹魚 | xiányú | salted fish | |
| 鹹菜 | xiáncài | salted vegetables; pickles |
Questions about 鹹
How many strokes are in 鹹?
鹹 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鹹 mean?
鹹 (xián) means all, together, united; salted. A common word with it is 咸鱼 (xiányú), meaning "salted fish".
How do you pronounce 鹹?
鹹 is pronounced xián, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 鹹?
The radical of 鹹 is 鹵, which carries the idea of "salt". Dictionaries list 鹹 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鹹?
鹹 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 咸, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does simplified Chinese write salty as 咸 instead of 鹹?
Simplification merged 鹹 into its sound component 咸, which already existed with the meaning "all, together." So in simplified texts 咸 covers both meanings, and context tells you which one is meant.
Does 鹹 have any meaning besides salty?
Yes. The data lists "stingy" and "miserly" as extended senses, though these are informal and much less common than the taste meaning. In everyday speech you will mostly see it in food words like 鹹魚 (xiányú, salted fish) and 鹹菜 (xiáncài, pickles).