TraceHanzi

形 meaning in English

xíng

to appear; to look

HSK 6noun7 strokes

Meaning of 形

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xíng
  1. to appear
  2. to look
  3. form
  4. shape

How to use 形

形 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It mostly appears inside words about shape, form, or appearance, such as 形状 (xíngzhuàng) and 形成 (xíngchéng). Example: 这块石头的形状很奇怪。(Zhè kuài shítou de xíngzhuàng hěn qíguài.) This stone has a strange shape.

形 (xíng) has a frame-like part on the left and 彡, three slanting strokes often used for patterns or visible marks, on the right. Picture lines drawn around an object to show its outline, its shape.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 形式 (xíngshì, form, format) and 形势 (xíngshì, situation). They sound identical, so check the second character: 式 means style or pattern, and 势 means force or trend.

形 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

平píng行xíng四sì边biān形xíng的de对duì边biān平píng行xíng。
The opposite sides of a parallelogram are parallel.
正zhèng方fāng形xíng有yǒu四sì个gè角jiǎo。
A square has four angles.
三sān角jiǎo形xíng有yǒu三sān个gè角jiǎo，而ér六liù边biān形xíng有yǒu六liù个gè角jiǎo
A triangle has 3 corners, and a hexagon has 6 corners.
正zhèng方fāng形xíng有yǒu四sì条tiáo边biān。
A square has four sides.
六liù边biān形xíng有yǒu六liù条tiáo边biān。
An hexagon has six sides.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

形 xíng · to appear · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

Related words

Words that share a character with 形.

形成xíngchéngto form; to take shape
形式xíngshìouter appearance; form
形象xíngxiàngimage; form
形状xíngzhuàngform; shape
形容xíngróngto describe; (literary) countenance; appearance
形势xíngshìcircumstances; situation
情形qíngxingcircumstances; situation; state of affairs
地形dìxíngtopography; terrain
形态xíngtàishape; form
变形biànxíngto become deformed; to change shape; to morph
隐形yǐnxínginvisible
畸形jīxíngdeformed; malformed; lopsided; unbalanced

Questions about 形

What does 形 mean?

形 (xíng) means "to appear; to look" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 形?

形 is made of 1 character: 形 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.

Is 形 an HSK word?

Yes. 形 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 形容 and 描述?

形容 (xíngróng) means to describe something vividly, often with adjectives or comparisons, as in 很难形容 (hard to describe). 描述 (miáoshù) is a more neutral word for giving an account of events or details.

How is 形 used in shape names like triangle?

形 works as a suffix meaning shape in geometry words. Examples are 三角形 (sānjiǎoxíng, triangle), 圆形 (yuánxíng, circle), and 方形 (fāngxíng, square).

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