西 (xī): the West, abbr. for Spain 西班牙, Spanish
西 (xī) is a Chinese character meaning “the west.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 兀 (structural) and 囗 (structural). It ranks #167 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 西 a bird settling into its nest, representing sunset; compare 東. Its radical form 西 (west) appears in many related characters such as 要 (yāo, (bound form) to demand), 覆 (fù, to cover).
Definitions
- the West
- abbr. for Spain 西班牙
- Spanish
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA bird settling into its nest, representing sunset; compare 東
Decomposition: ⿻兀囗 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 西 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 西
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 东西noun | dōng xī | east and west | 1 |
| 西装noun | xī zhuāng | suit | 5 |
| 西部noun | xī bù | western part | 4 |
| 西方noun | xī fāng | the West | 3 |
| 西北noun | xī běi | northwest | 3 |
| 西南noun | xī nán | southwest | 3 |
| 西瓜noun | xī guā | watermelon | 3 |
| 西红柿noun | xī hóng shì | tomato | 4 |
| 西餐noun | xī cān | Western-style food | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 西德 | xī dé | West Germany |
| 巴西 | bā xī | Brazil |
| 杰西 | jié xī | Jesse (name) |
| 摩西 | mó xī | Moses |
| 西服 | xī fú | suit |
| 西边 | xī biān | west |
| 露西 | lù xī | Lucy |
| 纳西 | nà xī | Nakhi (ethnic group) |
| 兰西 | lán xī | see 蘭西縣|兰西县[Lan2 xi1 Xian4] |
| 西面 | xī miàn | west side |
| 西门 | xī mén | two-character surname Ximen |
| 西藏 | xī zàng | see 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xi1 zang4 Zi4 zhi4 qu1] |
| 梅西 | méi xī | Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer |
| 西点 | xī diǎn | Western-style pastry |
| 西贡 | xī gòng | Saigon, capital of former South Vietnam |
西 appears in 100 compound words: 55 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 0 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 西 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (43)
lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient; Rob Peter to pay Paul
to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom); to sway; (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle
lit. the sun setting and the moon rising (idiom); fig. the passage of time
(idiom) to sway from side to side; unsteady; (idiom) indecisive; hesitant
lit. pull down the east wall to repair the west (idiom); fig. temporary expedient; Rob Peter to pay Paul
to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom); to sway; (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle
lit. the sun setting and the moon rising (idiom); fig. the passage of time
Showing 12 of 43 idioms containing 西.
Example Sentences
西字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
xī zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "西" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
马来西亚附近海域发生7.1级地震
mǎ lái xī yà fù jìn hǎi yù fā shēng 7 . 1 jí dì zhèn
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the waters off Malaysia
加拿大航空因安全局势暂停墨西哥巴亚尔塔港营运
jiā ná dà háng kōng yīn ān quán jú shì zàn tíng mò xī gē bā yà ěr tǎ gǎng yíng yùn
Air Canada suspended operations in the port of Vallarta, Mexico due to the security situation
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
西藏:马年新春 马上过年
xī zàng : mǎ nián xīn chūn mǎ shàng guò nián
Tibet: The New Year of the Horse is coming soon
存储概念股普涨 西部数据(WDC.US)涨逾3%
cún chǔ gài niàn gǔ pǔ zhǎng xī bù shǔ jù ( W D C . U S ) zhǎng yú 3
Storage concept stocks rose across Western Digital (WDC. US) rose more than 3%
这个东西是你的吗？
Zhège dōngxi shì nǐ de ma?
Is that thing yours?
巴西是说什么语言的？
Bāxī shì shuō shénme yǔyán de?
What is the language spoken in Brazil?
你班里有没有一个叫做珀西的人？
Nǐ bān lǐ yǒuméiyǒu yī gè jiàozuò pò xī de rén?
Is there a Percy in your class?
你收拾好东西了没有？
Nǐ shōushi hǎo dōngxi le méiyǒu?
Have you finished packing yet?
Character Family
西 Radical Family — Characters sharing the west radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 西 (xī) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 西 and 东?
How many strokes does 西 have?
What is the radical of 西?
What are the components of 西?
What are common words containing 西?
What characters sound the same as 西 (xī)?
Is 西 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 西 with real-time feedback
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