设 (shè): to set up, to design
设 (shè) is a Chinese character meaning “to set up, to design.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 殳 (phonetic). It ranks #302 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 设 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- to set up, to design
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 设 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 设
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 设计verb/noun | shè jì | to design | 5 |
| 假设verb/noun | jiǎ shè | to suppose | 6 |
| 设备noun | shè bèi | equipment | 5 |
| 设置verb | shè zhì | to set up | 5 |
| 设施noun | shè shī | facilities | 5 |
| 设想verb | shè xiǎng | to imagine | 6 |
| 设立verb | shè lì | to set up | 5 |
| 建设verb | jiàn shè | to build | 5 |
| 开设verb | kāi shè | to offer (goods or services) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 设计师 | shè jì shī | designer |
| 设法 | shè fǎ | to try |
| 设定 | shè dìng | to set |
| 想方设法 | xiǎng fāng shè fǎ | to think up every possible method (idiom) |
| 摆设 | bǎi shè | to set out |
| 建设性 | jiàn shè xìng | constructive |
| 天造地设 | tiān zào dì shè | lit. made by Heaven and arranged by Earth(idiom) |
| 设防 | shè fáng | to set up defenses |
| 设身处地 | shè shēn chǔ dì | to put oneself in sb else's shoes |
| 设计者 | shè jì zhě | designer |
| 铺设 | pū shè | to lay (railroad tracks, carpet, pipeline) |
| 公设 | gōng shè | (math.) postulate |
| 不堪设想 | bù kān shè xiǎng | too horrible to contemplate |
| 架设 | jià shè | to construct |
| 设有 | shè yǒu | to have |
设 appears in 100 compound words: 27 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 38 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 设 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
Example Sentences
这个系统设置了多层安全验证，确保数据安全。
Zhè gè xìtǒng shèzhì le duō céng ānquán yànzhèng, quèbǎo shùjù ānquán.
This system has multiple layers of security verification to ensure data safety.
俄军打击乌能源设施 乌克兰多地大面积停电
é jūn dǎ jī wū néng yuán shè shī wū kè lán duō dì dà miàn jī tíng diàn
Russian forces hit Ukrainian energy facilities Large-scale power outages in many places in Ukraine
京都浴屏设计独特 告别传统浴帘缺点
jīng dōu yù bǐng shè jì dú tè gào bié chuán tǒng yù lián quē diǎn
Kyoto's bath screen design is unique, say goodbye to the shortcomings of traditional shower curtains
高标准高质量推进雄安新区建设现代化城市丨雄安新区新..
gāo biāo zhǔn gāo zhì liàng tuī jìn xióng ān xīn qū jiàn shè xiàn dài huà chéng shì 丨 xióng ān xīn qū xīn . .
Promote the construction of Xiong'an New Area into a modern city with high standards and high quality丨Xiong'an New Area New:
浙江省政府批复同意!宁波一大学将设新学院
zhè jiāng shěng zhèng fǔ pī fù tóng yì ! nìng bō yī dà xué jiāng shè xīn xué yuàn
Zhejiang Provincial Government Approves! A New College to Be Established at a University in Ningbo
暖意融融 走进上海机场建设者小镇
nuǎn yì róng róng zǒu jìn shǎng hǎi jī chǎng jiàn shè zhě xiǎo zhèn
Warmth and Hospitality: A Visit to the Shanghai Airport Construction Workers' Village
政府应该彻底加强军队建设！
Zhèngfǔ yīnggāi chèdǐ jiāqiáng jūnduì jiànshè!
The government should strengthen their army once and for all!
我们必须设法打破这个僵局。
Wǒmen bìxū shèfǎ dǎpò zhège jiāngjú.
We must try to break the deadlock.
我需要去一趟中国建设银行。
Wǒ xūyào qù yī tàng Zhōngguó Jiànshè Yínháng.
I need to go to the China Construction Bank.
他们昨晚设宴招待了我们。
Tāmen zuówǎn shè yàn zhāodài le wǒmen.
They entertained us at dinner last night.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 设 (shè) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 设 and 下?
How many strokes does 设 have?
What is the radical of 设?
What are the components of 设?
What are common words containing 设?
What characters sound the same as 设 (shè)?
Is 设 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 设 with real-time feedback
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