省 (shěng): province, to save
省 (shěng) is a Chinese character meaning “province, to save.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 少 (phonetic) and 目 (semantic). It ranks #666 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 省 division. Its radical form 目 (eye) appears in many related characters such as 看 (kàn, to look, to see), 真 (zhēn, really), 着 (zhe, -ing, to wear).
Definitions
- province, to save
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 省 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 省
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 节省verb | jié shěng | saving | 5 |
| 省份noun | shěng fèn | province | 5 |
| 省会noun | shěng huì | provincial capital | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 反省verb | fǎn xǐng | to reflect upon oneself |
| 不省人事phrase | bù xǐng rén shì | to lose consciousness |
| 省钱verb | shěng qián | to save money |
| 省略verb | shěng lüè | to leave out |
| 省事verb | shěng shì | to simplify matters |
| 省去 | shěng qù | to omit |
| 省得conjunction | shěng de | to avoid |
| 省心verb | shěng xīn | to cause no trouble |
| 发人深省phrase | fā rén shēn xǐng | to provide food for thought (idiom) |
| 省略号noun | shěng lüè hào | (punctuation) ellipsis |
| 省吃俭用 | shěng chī jiǎn yòng | (idiom) to live frugally |
| 自省verb | zì xǐng | to examine oneself |
| 省力verb | shěng lì | to save labor |
| 省长noun | shěng zhǎng | governor of a province |
| 内省verb | nèi xǐng | to reflect upon oneself |
省 appears in 100 compound words: 38 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 5 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 省 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
seeing to bed in the evening and visiting in the morning (ancient filial duty)
Example Sentences
这个项目可以节省很多成本，值得推广。
Zhè gè xiàngmù kěyǐ jiéshěng hěn duō chéngběn, zhíde tuīguǎng.
This project can save a lot of costs and is worth promoting.
消除“黄牌”警告:广宁省提前完成渔船捕捞许可发放工作
xiāo chú huáng pái jǐng gào : guǎng nìng shěng tí qián wán chéng yú chuán bǔ lāo xǔ kě fā fàng gōng zuò
Eliminate "yellow card" warning: Quang Ninh province has completed the issuance of fishing vessel fishing licenses ahead of schedule
悉尼中国文化中心2026新春招待会暨部省合作启动仪式举行
xī ní zhōng guó wén huà zhōng xīn 2 0 2 6 xīn chūn zhāo dài huì jì bù shěng gě zuò qǐ dòng yí shì jǔ háng
The 2026 Chinese Year Reception of the Chinese Cultural Center in Sydney and the launching ceremony of ministerial and provincial cooperation were held
忻州市房地产市场多项指标居全省首位
忻 zhōu shì fáng dì chǎn shì chǎng duō xiàng zhǐ biāo jū quán shěng shǒu wèi
Xinzhou real estate market tops the province in a number of indicators
一卷春风三地书 2026福建省春节联欢晚会绘万里风..
yī juǎn chūn fēng sān dì shū fú jiàn shěng chūn jié lián huān wǎn huì huì mò lǐ fēng . .
A Spring Breeze Sweeps Across Three Regions 2026 Fujian Spring Festival Gala: Painting a Ten-Thousand-Mile Landscape...
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
他被人发现倒在厨房的地板上，不省人事。
Tā bèi rén fāxiàn dǎo zài chúfáng de dìbǎn shàng, bùxǐngrénshì.
He was found lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.
那条桥为我们节省了不少时间。
Nà tiáo qiáo wèi wǒmen jiéshěng le bù shǎo shíjiān.
The bridge saved us a lot of time.
我今天晚点下班，省得明天早上手忙脚乱。
Wǒ jīntiān wǎndiǎn xiàbān, shěngde míngtiān zǎoshang shǒumángjiǎoluàn.
Today I'm working a little late so as to avoid a rush in the morning.
你乘公车去的话，可以省掉三分之二的时间。
Nǐ chéng gōngchē qù dehuà, kěyǐ shěng diào sānfēn zhī èr de shíjiān.
If you go by bus, you can get there in about one-third of the time.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 目 (division) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 省 (shěng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 省 and 沙?
How many strokes does 省 have?
What is the radical of 省?
What are the components of 省?
What are common words containing 省?
What characters sound the same as 省 (shěng)?
Is 省 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 省 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.