犀 (xī): rhinoceros
犀 (xī) is a Chinese character meaning “rhinoceros.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 尾 (structural) and 牛 (structural). It ranks #3075 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 犀 an ox 牛 with a tail 尾. Its radical form 牛 (cow) appears in many related characters such as 特 (tè, special), 牛 (niú, ox), 物 (wù, (bound form) thing).
Definitions
- rhinoceros
Etymology & Origin
ideographicAn ox 牛 with a tail 尾
Decomposition: ⿸尾牛 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 犀 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 犀牛 | xī niú | rhinoceros |
| 犀利 | xī lì | sharp |
| 犀鸟 | xī niǎo | hornbill |
| 心有灵犀一点通 | xīn yǒu líng xī yī diǎn tōng | hearts linked as one, just as the proverbial rhinoceros communicates emotion telepathically through his single horn (... |
| 灵犀一点通 | líng xī yī diǎn tōng | mental rapport |
| 灵犀相通 | líng xī xiāng tōng | kindred spirits |
| 双角犀鸟 | shuāng jiǎo xī niǎo | (bird species of China) great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) |
| 双角犀 | shuāng jiǎo xī | two-horned rhinoceros |
| 木犀肉 | mù xi ròu | pork and scrambled eggs |
| 白喉犀鸟 | bái hóu xī niǎo | (bird species of China) Austen's brown hornbill (Anorrhinus austeni) |
| 花冠皱盔犀鸟 | huā guān zhòu kuī xī niǎo | (bird species of China) wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus) |
| 灵犀 | líng xī | rhinoceros horn, reputed to confer telepathic powers |
| 木犀 | mù xi | osmanthus |
| 冠斑犀鸟 | guān bān xī niǎo | (bird species of China) oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) |
| 棕颈犀鸟 | zōng jǐng xī niǎo | (bird species of China) rufous-necked hornbill (Aceros nipalensis) |
犀 appears in 15 compound words: 20 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 60 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 犀 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了犀字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le xī zì de xiáng xì jiě shì .
I looked up the detailed definition of the character "犀" in the dictionary.
...稚园时曾承诺买车给父亲!林汉森:他在义大犀牛时兑现了
. . . zhì yuán shí céng chéng nuò mǎi chē gěi fù qīn ! lín hàn sēn : tā zài yì dà xī niú shí duì xiàn le
乌干达基迪坡河谷国家公园重现犀牛踪影 摆脱盗猎阴霾
wū gān dá jī dí pō hé gǔ guó jiā gōng yuán chóng xiàn xī niú zōng yǐng bǎi tuō dào liè yīn 霾
Rhinos Return to Uganda’s Kidi Po Valley National Park, Shaking Off the Shadow of Poaching
六旬汉携$300万犀牛角切片抵港遭海关拘捕 涉进口濒危物种囚...
liù xún hàn xié 3 0 0 wàn xī niú jiǎo qiē piàn dǐ gǎng zāo hǎi guān jū bǔ shè jìn kǒu bīn wēi wù zhǒng qiú . . .
A sixty-year-old man arrived in Hong Kong with $3 million rhino horn slices and was arrested by customs for importing endangered species...
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 犀 (xī) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 犀 have?
What is the radical of 犀?
What are the components of 犀?
What are common words containing 犀?
Is 犀 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 犀 with real-time feedback
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