Meaning of 乡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- country or countryside
- native place
- home village or town
- township (PRC administrative unit)
How to use 乡
乡 is rarely used alone in everyday speech. It mostly appears in words like 家乡 (jiāxiāng, hometown), 乡下 (xiāngxia, countryside) and 老乡 (lǎoxiāng, someone from your hometown). Example: 我们是老乡。 (Wǒmen shì lǎoxiāng.) We are from the same hometown.
The simplified 乡 (xiāng) looks like a winding country road with two bends leading down to a small village. Picture yourself walking that twisting path back to your home village.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 乡 (xiāng) with 香 (xiāng, fragrant) and 想 (xiǎng, to think) because they sound alike. Also note that in 乡下 the 下 is usually read in the neutral tone, xiāngxia, not xiāngxià.
乡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
乡 xiāng · country or countryside · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 乡.
| 家乡 | jiāxiāng | hometown; native place |
| 故乡 | gùxiāng | home; homeland |
| 乡村 | xiāngcūn | rustic; village |
| 老乡 | lǎoxiāng | fellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown |
| 城乡 | chéng xiāng | city and countryside |
| 乡下 | xiāngxia | countryside; rural area |
| 乡亲 | xiāngqīn | person from one's hometown or home region; local people; folks |
| 下乡 | xiàxiāng | to go to the countryside |
| 乡巴佬 | xiāngbalǎo | (derog.) country bumpkin; hick |
| 乡间 | xiāngjiān | in the country; rural |
| 乡下人 | xiāngxiàrén | country folk; rustic |
| 乡村音乐 | xiāngcūnyīnyuè | country music (country & western music genre) |
Questions about 乡
What does 乡 mean?
乡 (xiāng) means "country or countryside; native place" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 乡?
乡 is made of 1 character: 乡 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 乡 an HSK word?
Yes. 乡 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 乡 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 乡 is written 鄉.
What is the difference between 家乡 and 故乡?
Both mean hometown. 家乡 (jiāxiāng) is the everyday word, while 故乡 (gùxiāng) sounds more literary and emotional, and often suggests a place you left long ago.
Is 乡 an official place name in China?
Yes. In the PRC a 乡 is a township, a rural administrative unit below the county level. You will see it on addresses and signs, such as 某某乡.