Meaning of 县
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- county
- (Japan) prefecture
How to use 县
县 (xiàn) is an administrative unit in China, below a province or city and above a township. It often appears after a place name, and in Japanese contexts it translates prefecture. Example: 我老家在一个小县城。(Wǒ lǎojiā zài yí ge xiǎo xiànchéng.) My hometown is in a small county town.
Picture the top part of 县 as an eye-like box sitting on a flat line, with 厶 tucked below like a small person. Think of one official watching over a small person's county from above.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 县 (xiàn) with 且 (qiě) or 具 (jù) because the top boxes look alike. 县 has a flat line and 厶 under the box, not legs. Also keep the fourth tone. Do not say xián.
县 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.
县 xiàn · county · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 县.
| 县长 | xiànzhǎng | county's head commissioner |
Questions about 县
What does 县 mean?
县 (xiàn) means "county; (Japan) prefecture" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 县?
县 is made of 1 character: 县 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 县 an HSK word?
Yes. 县 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 县 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 县 is written 縣.
What is the difference between 县 and 市 in Chinese place names?
市 (shì) means city and is usually more urban, while 县 (xiàn) is a county with more rural areas. Many counties have been upgraded to county-level cities, so you will see both.
What does 县城 mean?
县城 (xiànchéng) is the county town, the main town where the county government sits. People often use it to describe a small hometown, as opposed to a big city.