息 (xī): breath, news, interest (on an investment or loan)
息 (xī) is a Chinese character meaning “breath.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 自 (structural) and 心 (structural). It ranks #428 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 息 to breathe (life, 心) through one's nose 自; 心 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- breath
- news
- interest (on an investment or loan)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo breathe (life, 心) through one's nose 自; 心 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱自心 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 息 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 息
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 消息noun | xiāo xi | (piece of) news | 4 |
| 休息verb | xiū xi | rest | 1 |
| 信息noun | xìn xī | information | 4 |
| 利息noun | lì xī | interest (on a loan) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 安息verb | ān xī | to rest |
| 窒息verb | zhì xī | to choke |
| 气息noun | qì xī | breath |
| 休息室noun | xiū xī shì | lobby |
| 讯息noun | xùn xī | information |
| 平息verb | píng xī | (of wind etc) to subside |
| 叹息verb | tàn xī | to sigh |
| 奄奄一息 | yǎn yǎn yī xī | dying |
| 稍息verb | shào xī | (military) Stand at ease! |
| 全息adjective | quán xī | holographic |
| 喘息verb | chuǎn xī | to gasp for breath |
| 小道消息 | xiǎo dào xiāo xi | hearsay |
| 出息noun | chū xī | to yield interest, profit etc |
| 停息verb | tíng xī | to stop |
| 息息相关phrase | xī xī xiāng guān | closely bound up (idiom) |
息 appears in 100 compound words: 13 as the first character, 63 as the last, and 24 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 息 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
to tolerate is to nurture an evildoer (idiom); spare the rod and spoil the child
to rest and recuperate; to convalesce; (of society) to recover (after a war or upheaval) and regain vitality
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 息.
Example Sentences
请保持手机畅通，以便我们及时联系你。
Qǐng bǎochí shǒujī chàngtōng, yǐbiàn wǒmen jíshí liánxì nǐ.
Please keep your phone open so we can contact you in time.
(米兰冬奥会)综合消息:谷爱凌U型场地技巧卫冕 美国摘赛会最后...
( mǐ lán dōng ào huì ) zèng gě xiāo xī : gǔ ài líng U xíng chǎng dì jì qiǎo wèi 冕 měi guó zhāi sài huì zuì hòu . . .
(Milan Winter Olympics) Comprehensive news: Gu Ailing's U-shaped court skills defended the title of the United States Championships...
滙控季息料近3.3元增17% 大行估50亿恒生股...
滙 kòng jì xī liào jìn 3 . 3 yuán zēng 1 7 dà háng gū 5 0 yì héng shēng gǔ . . .
HSBC Holdings' quarterly dividend is expected to increase by 17% by nearly 3.3 yuan, and major banks estimate 5 billion Hang Seng shares...
...财年业绩:创纪录利润,拟派发2.9欧元股息
. . . cái nián yè jì : chuàng jì lù lì rùn , nǐ pài fā 2 . 9 ōu yuán gǔ xī
... Fiscal year results: record profit with a proposed dividend of 2.9 euros
国补2026年最新政策通知消息:手机家电汽车国补详..
guó bǔ nián zuì xīn zhèng cè tōng zhī xiāo xī shǒu jī jiā diàn qì chē guó bǔ xiáng . .
State subsidy 2026 latest policy notification news: cell phone home appliances car state subsidy detailed...
2025年收获满满,山东信息职业技术学院向合作单位..
nián shōu huò mǎn mǎn , shān dōng xìn xī zhí yè jì shù xué yuàn xiàng gě zuò shàn wèi . .
2025 harvest full, Shandong Information Vocational Technology College to the cooperative unit...
这个消息预示着什么？
Zhège xiāoxi yùshì zhe shénme?
What does this news augur?
我能休息一会儿吗？
Wǒ néng xiūxi yīhuìr ma?
Can I rest a bit?
你想留个讯息给他吗？
Nǐ xiǎng liú gè xùnxī gěi tā ma?
Would you like to leave him a message?
我们休息一下吧，好吗？
Wǒmen xiūxi yīxià ba, hǎo ma?
Let's break off, shall we?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Practice writing 息 with real-time feedback
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