咸 (xián): all, everyone, each, widespread, harmonious
咸 (xián) is a Chinese character meaning “all.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 戊 (structural), 一 (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #2436 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 咸 one 一 voice 口 surrounded by conflict 戈. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- all
- everyone
- each
- widespread
- harmonious
Etymology & Origin
ideographicOne 一 voice 口 surrounded by conflict 戈
Decomposition: ⿵戊⿱一口 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 咸 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 咸鱼noun | xián yú | salted fish |
| 咸肉noun | xián ròu | bacon |
| 咸菜noun | xián cài | salted vegetables |
| 咸兴proper-noun | xián xīng | Hamhung, North Korea |
| 咸海proper-noun | xián hǎi | Aral Sea |
| 咸丰proper-noun | xián fēng | Xianfeng (1831-1861), reign name of Qing emperor, reigned from 1850-1861 |
| 咸鸭蛋noun | xián yā dàn | salted duck egg |
| 咸与维新 | xián yù wéi xīn | everyone participates in reforms (idiom) |
| 咸安区 | xián ān qū | Xian'an, a district of Xianning City 咸寧市|咸宁市, Hubei |
| 咸镜南道proper-noun | xián jìng nán dào | South Hamgyeong Province of east North Korea |
| 老少咸宜phrase | lǎo shào xián yí | suitable for young and old |
| 咸镜北道proper-noun | xián jìng běi dào | North Hamgyeong Province in northeast of North Korea, capital Chongjin 清津市 |
| 咸兴市 | xián xīng shì | Hamhung, North Korea |
| 咸鱼翻身verb | xián yú fān shēn | lit. the salted fish turns over (idiom) |
| 咸丝丝儿 | xián sī sī r | erhua variant of 鹹絲絲|咸丝丝 |
咸 appears in 39 compound words: 92 as the first character, 5 as the last, and 3 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 咸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Example Sentences
这道菜太咸了，能不能少放点盐？
Zhè dào cài tài xián le, néng bùnéng shǎo fàng diǎn yán?
This dish is too salty; can you use less salt?
只在路边卖过咸酥鸡 他却诈人加盟炸鸡店骗逾400万元
zhī zài lù biān mài guò xián sū jī tā què zhà rén jiā méng zhà jī diàn piàn yú 4 0 0 wàn yuán
He had only ever sold salted crispy chicken on the street, yet he defrauded people out of more than 4 million yuan by luring them into franchising his fried chicken shops.
英超白礼顿挫利物浦 富咸反胜般尼
yīng chāo bái lǐ dùn cuò lì wù pǔ fù xián fǎn shèng bān ní
Brighton Stuns Liverpool in the Premier League; Fulham Comes From Behind to Beat Burnley
沙田大涌桥路爆咸水管 往马鞍山方向全线封闭 溱岸8号及车...
shā tián dà chōng qiáo lù bào xián shuǐ guǎn wǎng mǎ 鞍 shān fāng xiàng quán xiàn fēng bì 溱 àn 8 hào jí chē . . .
Salty water pipe bursts on Tai Chung Kiu Road in Sha Tin; entire road closed in the direction of Ma On Shan; No. 8 Zhen'an and...
减脂也能吃咸水鸡!营养师教黄金比例吃法
jiǎn zhī yě néng chī xián shuǐ jī ! yíng yǎng shī jiào huáng jīn bǐ lì chī fǎ
You Can Enjoy Salted Chicken Even While Losing Weight! A Nutritionist Shares the Perfect Way to Eat It
将军澳环保大道咸水掣渗漏 日出康城及工业邨等多地停咸水
jiāng jūn ào huán bǎo dà dào xián shuǐ 掣 shèn lòu rì chū kāng chéng jí gōng yè 邨 děng duō dì tíng xián shuǐ
Saltwater leakage on Environmental Avenue in Tseung Kwan O Saltwater stop in many places such as LOHAS Park and industrial estates
你不能喝海水，因为它太咸了。
Nǐ bù néng hē hǎishuǐ, yīnwèi tā tài xián le.
You can't drink seawater because it's too salty.
这碗汤大咸了，喝不下。
Zhè wǎn tāng dà xián le, hē bù xià.
This soup is too salty to eat.
做人如果没有梦想，那和咸鱼有什么区别？
Zuò rén rúguǒ méiyǒu mèngxiǎng, nà hé xiányú yǒu shénme qūbié?
Without dreams, what different are we from animals?
这个食物太咸了。
Zhège shíwù tài xián le.
This food is too salty.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 咸 (xián) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 咸 have?
What is the radical of 咸?
What are the components of 咸?
What are common words containing 咸?
What characters sound the same as 咸 (xián)?
Is 咸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 咸 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.