虾 (xiā): shrimp
虾 (xiā) is a Chinese character meaning “shrimp.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虫 (semantic) and 下 (phonetic). It ranks #2664 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 虾 insect. Its radical form 虫 (insect) appears in many related characters such as 蛋 (dàn, egg), 虽 (suī, although), 虫 (chóng, insect).
Definitions
- shrimp
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 虾 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 龙虾noun | lóng xiā | lobster |
| 虾米noun | xiā mǐ | small shrimp |
| 大虾noun | dà xiā | prawn |
| 虾子noun | xiā zǐ | shrimp roe |
| 虾仁noun | xiā rén | shrimp meat |
| 对虾noun | duì xiā | prawn |
| 明虾noun | míng xiā | prawn |
| 鱼虾 | yú xiā | fish and shrimp |
| 虾酱noun | xiā jiàng | shrimp paste |
| 大明虾 | dà míng xiā | king prawn |
| 对虾科 | duì xiā kē | penaeidae (the prawn or shrimp family) |
| 小虾米 | xiǎo xiā mi | shrimp |
| 小龙虾noun | xiǎo lóng xiā | crayfish |
| 虾虎鱼科 | xiā hǔ yú kē | Gobiidae (suborder of perch) |
| 虾红素 | xiā hóng sù | astaxanthin |
虾 appears in 43 compound words: 49 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 7 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 虾 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
这家餐厅的清蒸虾很新鲜，味道很好。
Zhè jiā cāntīng de qīngzhēng xiā hěn xīnxiān, wèidào hěn hǎo.
The steamed shrimp at this restaurant is very fresh and tastes great.
赤潮过后 南非海滩遍布死龙虾
chì cháo guò hòu nán fēi hǎi tān biàn bù sǐ lóng xiā
After the red tide South African beaches are full of dead lobsters
...海产2025年业绩亮眼:鳕鱼价格创纪录,虾类业务扩张
. . . hǎi chǎn nián yè jì liàng yǎn 鳕 yú jià gé chuàng jì lù , xiā lèi yè wù kuò zhāng
... Seafood 2025 performance is impressive: cod prices are record-breaking, shrimp business is expanding
...!指定点心一律计小点 早午下午茶市都有 虾饺/烧卖/凤爪/叉烧包
. . . ! zhǐ dìng diǎn xīn yī lǜ jì xiǎo diǎn zǎo wǔ xià wǔ chá shì dōu yǒu xiā jiǎo shāo mài fèng zhǎo chā shāo bāo
...! Designated dim sum is counted as a small order, and there are shrimp dumplings/shumai/chicken feet/char siu buns in the morning, afternoon and afternoon tea market
虾皮升级VIP服务 打造全方位VIP生态圈
xiā pí shēng jí fú wù dǎ zào quán fāng wèi shēng tài juān
Shopee upgrades VIP services to create a comprehensive VIP ecosystem
...时代”爆红—全网疯玩“热狗肠包X” 珍珠虾滑杨枝甘露乜都塞
. . . shí dài bào hóng quán wǎng fēng wán rè gǒu cháng bāo zhēn zhū xiā huá yáng zhī gān lù 乜 dōu sāi
... The times "became popular" - the whole network was crazy to play "hot dog sausage bun X" pearl shrimp slippery poplar branch nectar stuffed with everything
让我们点龙虾！听说是这里的招牌菜。
Ràng wǒmen diǎn lóngxiā! tīngshuō shì zhèlǐ de zhāopáicài.
Let’s order the lobster! I’ve heard that’s the specialty dish here.
看见新鲜龙虾，我有了食欲。
Kànjiàn xīnxiān lóngxiā, wǒ yǒule shíyù.
Seeing the fresh lobster made me hungry.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 虫 (insect) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 虾 (xiā) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 虾 have?
What is the radical of 虾?
What are the components of 虾?
What are common words containing 虾?
What characters sound the same as 虾 (xiā)?
Is 虾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 虾 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.