横 meaning in English

héng

horizontal; across

HSK 6verbadjectiveTraditional 橫15 strokes

Meaning of 横

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

héng

horizontal
across
crosswise
horizontal stroke (in Chinese characters)
to place (sth) flat (on a surface)
to cross (a river, etc)
in a jumble
chaotic

hèng

harsh and unreasonable
unexpected

How to use 横

横 (héng) describes things that lie flat or run side to side, and it also names the horizontal stroke in characters. It often appears in set phrases like 横跨 (héngkuà) and 横七竖八 (héngqī-shùbā). Example: 一座大桥横跨长江。(Yí zuò dà qiáo héngkuà Cháng Jiāng.) A big bridge spans the Yangtze River.

横 is 木 (wood) plus 黄 (huáng), which hints at the sound. Picture a wooden beam lying flat across a doorway, and you have the idea of horizontal and across.

Common mistake: Learners often forget the second reading hèng, which means rude and unreasonable, as in 蛮横 (mánhèng) and 横财 (hèngcái, a windfall). Also watch the sound component: it is 黄, not 寅 or 寅-like shapes, so check the bottom has 由 plus two dots.

横 in example sentences

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

你nǐ横héng穿chuān马mǎ路lù要yào小xiǎo心xīn。

You must be careful of the traffic when you cross the street.

阿ā尔ěr卑bēi斯sī山shān脉mài横héng跨kuà八bā个gè欧ōu洲zhōu国guó家jiā。

The Alps extend across eight European countries.

我wǒ们men绝jué不bú会huì接jiē受shòu这zhè些xiē横hèng蛮mán无wú理lǐ的de要yāo求qiú。

We mustn't give way to these impudent demands.

横héng街jiē的de那nà端duān有yǒu一yí个gè幼yòu儿ér园yuán。

There is a kindergarten at the other end of the street.

工gōng程chéng横héng跨kuà了le两liǎng个gè世shì纪jì才cái完wán成chéng，

The construction straddled two centuries.

Stroke order for each character

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

横 héng · horizontal · 15 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 横.

横向	héngxiàng	horizontal; orthogonal
横七竖八	héngqī-shùbā	in disorder; at sixes and sevens (idiom)
纵横交错	zònghéng-jiāocuò	criss-crossed (idiom)
横跨	héngkuà	to span; to stretch across
才华横溢	cáihuáhéngyì	brimming over with talent (esp. literary); brilliant
横扫	héngsǎo	to sweep away; to sweep across
横行	héngxíng	to go on the rampage; to riot
横穿	héngchuān	to cross; to traverse
横渡	héngdù	to cross (a body of water)
横越	héngyuè	to cross; to pass over
横梁	héngliáng	beam
专横	zhuānhèng	imperious; peremptory

Questions about 横

What does 横 mean?

横 (héng) means "horizontal; across" and is used as a verb and adjective.

How do you write 横?

横 is made of 1 character: 横 (15 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.

Is 横 an HSK word?

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

How is 横 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 横 is written 橫.

What is the opposite of 横 in Chinese?

The opposite is 竖 (shù) for vertical, or 纵 (zòng) in more formal words. You see both pairs in idioms like 横七竖八 and 纵横交错.

How do you say someone is rude or bossy using 横?

Use the fourth-tone reading hèng, as in 他说话很横 (tā shuōhuà hěn hèng), he talks in a rude, overbearing way. The word 蛮横 (mánhèng) means arrogant and unreasonable.