Meaning of 熊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- bear
- (coll.) to scold; to rebuke
- (coll.) weak; incapable
- surname Xiong
How to use 熊
熊 (xióng) mostly means bear and appears in animal names like 北极熊 (běijíxióng, polar bear) and 熊猫 (xióngmāo, panda). In casual northern speech it can also mean to scold someone, or describe a person as weak or useless. Example: 他被老板熊了一顿。(Tā bèi lǎobǎn xióng le yí dùn.) He got chewed out by his boss.
Picture a bear standing on four paws: the four dots at the bottom of 熊 (xióng) are its feet, and the top part is its big body and head. Four dots under a heavy shape, like a bear planted on the ground.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 熊 (xióng) with 能 (néng, can), since 熊 is just 能 with four dots added underneath. If you leave off the dots, you have written can instead of bear.
熊 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.
熊 xióng · bear · 14 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 熊.
Questions about 熊
What does 熊 mean?
熊 (xióng) means "bear; (coll.) to scold; to rebuke" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 熊?
熊 is made of 1 character: 熊 (14 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 熊 an HSK word?
Yes. 熊 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is panda 熊猫 (xióngmāo) in Chinese, literally bear cat?
The name combines 熊 (bear) and 猫 (cat) to describe the animal. The giant panda is formally 大熊猫 (dàxióngmāo), big bear cat. In everyday speech people usually just say 熊猫.
What does 熊孩子 mean?
熊孩子 (xióng háizi) is a colloquial term for a naughty, badly behaved kid. It uses the informal negative sense of 熊. It is common online and in casual conversation.