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
...He promised to buy his father a car when he was in kindergarten! Lin Hansen: He made good on that promise while playing for the E-Da Rhinos.
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?
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