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).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. rhinoceros

Etymology & Origin

犀

ideographicAn ox 牛 with a tail 尾

Decomposition: ⿸尾牛 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

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

WordPinyinMeaning
犀牛nounxī niúrhinoceros
犀利adjectivexī lìsharp
犀鸟nounxī niǎohornbill
心有灵犀一点通phrasexīn yǒu líng xī yī diǎn tōnghearts linked as one, just as the proverbial rhinoceros communicates emotion telepathically through his single horn (...
灵犀一点通líng xī yī diǎn tōngmental rapport
灵犀相通líng xī xiāng tōngkindred spirits
双角犀鸟shuāng jiǎo xī niǎo(bird species of China) great hornbill (Buceros bicornis)
双角犀shuāng jiǎo xītwo-horned rhinoceros
木犀肉mù xi ròusee 木須肉|木须肉
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nounlíng xīrhinoceros horn, reputed to confer telepathic powers
木犀nounmù xiosmanthus
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)
15
Total compounds
20
As first character
20
As last character
60
As middle character

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.

牛niú
0.5963,470 co-occurrences
趴pā
0.545182 co-occurrences
剔tī
0.43664 co-occurrences
哇wā
0.42086 co-occurrences
利lì
0.4112,270 co-occurrences
鸟niǎo
0.403188 co-occurrences
浦pǔ
0.392282 co-occurrences
龟guī
0.38852 co-occurrences
蛀zhù
0.38610 co-occurrences
披pī
0.385114 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

灵犀相通líng xī xiāng tōngHSK 7+

kindred spirits

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

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.

爱范儿Aug 2026

在高速行进状态下,智元灵犀 X2 同步完成绕障、跨越障碍、通过受限空间等一系列动作。

zài gāo sù háng jìn zhuàng tài xià , zhì yuán líng xī X 2 tóng bù wán chéng rào zhàng , kuà yuè zhàng ài , tōng guò shòu xiàn kōng jiān děng yī xì liè dòng zuò .

While traveling at high speeds, the Zhiyuan Lingxi X2 simultaneously performs a series of maneuvers, including navigating around obstacles, clearing obstacles, and passing through confined spaces.

爱范儿Aug 2026

今年 6 月,市场消息曾称阿里为灵犀互娱寻找买家。

jīn nián 6 yuè , shì chǎng xiāo xī céng chèn ā lǐ wéi líng xī hù yú xún zhǎo mǎi jiā .

In June of this year, market reports indicated that Alibaba was seeking a buyer for Lingxi Interactive Entertainment.

Nownews今日新聞Apr 2026

...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.

BastillepostMar 2026

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

Hk01.comFeb 2026

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

Homophones — Characters pronounced xī

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 犀 (xī) mean in Chinese?
犀 (xī) primarily means "rhinoceros." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #3075 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 犀 have?
犀 is written with 12 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 犀?
The radical associated with 犀 is 牛 (cow). This radical appears in many characters related to cow.
What are the components of 犀?
犀 is composed of: 尾 (structural), 牛 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿸尾牛 with a surround-from-upper-left layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 犀?
Common words with 犀 include: 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"). There are over 15 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 犀 (xī)?
Several characters share the pronunciation xī: 蹊 ((literary) footpath). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 犀 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 犀 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 犀 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.