献 meaning in English

xiàn

to offer; to present

HSK 5verbTraditional 獻13 strokes

Meaning of 献

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xiàn

to offer
to present
to dedicate
to donate
to show
to put on display
worthy person (old)

How to use 献

献 is a formal verb for offering or giving something with respect, and it usually appears in compounds like 贡献 (gòngxiàn) and 捐献 (juānxiàn). It also shows up in fixed phrases such as 献花 (xiànhuā, to present flowers). Example: 他每年都去献血。 (Tā měi nián dōu qù xiànxiě.) He donates blood every year.

The simplified form 献 puts 南 (nán, south) next to 犬 (quǎn, dog). Picture someone bringing a dog from the south as a gift to present to an honored guest.

Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 大 instead of 犬 and forget the dot. Also, 献血 is read xiànxiě in everyday speech, though xiànxuè is also heard, so do not be surprised by both.

献 in example sentences

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

您nín不bù能néng成chéng为wéi献xiàn血xiě者zhě。

You can't be a blood donor.

你nǐ必bì须xū每měi天tiān背bèi一yī篇piān古gǔ典diǎn文wén献xiàn。

You should memorize a piece of classical literature every day.

你nǐ有yǒu没méi有yǒu给gěi孤gū儿ér献xiàn上shàng一yī首shǒu歌gē呢ne？

Have you ever dedicated a song to the orphans?

他tā把bǎ他tā的de一yī生shēng献xiàn给gěi了le他tā的de国guó家jiā。

He gave his life for his country.

我wǒ每měi三sān个gè月yuè献xiàn一yī次cì血xuè。

I donate blood every three months.

Stroke order for each character

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

献 xiàn · to offer · 13 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 献.

奉献	fèngxiàn	to offer respectfully; to consecrate
贡献	gòngxiàn	to contribute; to dedicate
捐献	juānxiàn	to donate; to contribute
文献	wénxiàn	reference material (used in scholarly study)
献血	xiànxiě	to donate blood
献上	xiànshàng	to offer (respectfully); to present
献出	xiànchū	to offer; to give (as tribute)
献身	xiànshēn	to commit one's energy to; to devote oneself to
献祭	xiànjì	to offer sacrifice
献唱	xiànchàng	to perform a song

Questions about 献

What does 献 mean?

献 (xiàn) means "to offer; to present" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 献?

献 is made of 1 character: 献 (13 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.

Is 献 an HSK word?

Yes. 献 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 献 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 献 is written 獻.

What is the difference between 献 and 送?

送 (sòng) is the everyday word for giving or sending a gift. 献 is more formal and respectful, used for presenting something to a person of honor, a cause, or the public.

Why does 文献 mean documents if 献 means to offer?

In 文献 (wénxiàn), 献 uses its old sense of worthy, knowledgeable people. The word originally referred to texts and learned people who preserved knowledge, and today it means reference literature or documents.