限 (xiàn): to limit, to restrict, (bound form) limit

限 (xiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to limit.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 阝 (semantic) and 艮 (phonetic). It ranks #613 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 限 place. Its radical form 阝 (mound) appears in many related characters such as 那 (nà, (specifier) that), 都 (dōu, all), 院 (yuàn, courtyard).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to limit
  2. to restrict
  3. (bound form) limit

Etymology & Origin

限

pictophoneticplace

Decomposition: ⿰阝艮 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Practice writing 限 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 限

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
限制verb/nounxiàn zhìto restrict5
无限adjectivewú xiànunlimited5
有限adjectiveyǒu xiànlimited5
期限nounqī xiàntime limit6
限度nounxiàn dùlimit6
限于verbxiàn yúto be limited to6
局限verbjú xiànvariant of 局限6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
极限nounjí xiànlimit
权限nounquán xiànscope of authority
界限nounjiè xiànboundary
限量xiàn liàngto limit the amount (of)
有限公司nounyǒu xiàn gōng sīlimited company
时限nounshí xiàntime limit
无限期adverbwú xiàn qīindefinitely
上限nounshàng xiànupper bound
限速nounxiàn sùspeed limit
限定verbxiàn dìngto restrict to
宽限verbkuān xiànto extend (a deadline etc)
限额nounxiàn équota
象限nounxiàng xiàn(math.) quadrant (of the coordinate plane)
限期verbxiàn qīto set a time limit
年限nounnián xiànage limit
81
Total compounds
26
As first character
38
As last character
36
As middle character

限 appears in 81 compound words: 26 as the first character, 38 as the last, and 36 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 限 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

司sī
0.692243,046 co-occurrences
股gǔ
0.67781,260 co-occurrences
公gōng
0.611257,816 co-occurrences
有yǒu
0.592321,714 co-occurrences
份fèn
0.57375,528 co-occurrences
制zhì
0.519121,457 co-occurrences
定dìng
0.48169,132 co-occurrences
鸽gē
0.45618 co-occurrences
责zé
0.44911,200 co-occurrences
仅jǐn
0.4268,988 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

户限为穿hù xiàn wéi chuānHSK 5+

to have an endless stream of visitors (idiom)

phrase
画地自限huàdìzìxiànHSK 5+

drawing boundaries for oneself; self-limiting

phrase
无限小数wú xiàn xiǎo shùHSK 5+

infinitesimal; infinite decimal expansion

phrase
有限公司yǒuxiàngōngsīHSK 5+

limited company; Co. Ltd.; limited level

noun

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

限字在日常生活中使用频率中等。

xiàn zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .

The character "限" has moderate frequency of use in daily life.

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

...刮刮乐送“小强标本”引热议 台北动物园:限量纪念品

. . . guā guā lè sòng xiǎo qiáng biāo běn yǐn rè yì tái běi dòng wù yuán : xiàn liàng jì niàn pǐn

... Scratch off "Xiaoqiang specimen" sparked heated discussions Taipei Zoo: limited souvenirs

It之家Feb 2026

...V 老客户复购价:13.88 万元,全国限量 1000 台

. . . V lǎo kè hù fù gòu jià : 1 3 . 8 8 wàn yuán , quán guó xiàn liàng 1 0 0 0 tái

... V Repurchase price for old customers: 138,800 yuan, limited to 1,000 units nationwide

Investing 香港Feb 2026

兴业证券:美关税判决是行政权受限带来的长期叙事变化 关注税率下降对A股出...

xīng yè zhèng quàn : měi guān shuì pàn jué shì háng zhèng quán shòu xiàn dài lái de cháng qī xù shì biàn huà guān zhù shuì lǜ xià jiàng duì A gǔ chū . . .

Industrial Securities: The U.S. tariff judgment is a long-term narrative change brought about by the restriction of administrative power.

百度新闻Feb 2026

一环内禁燃!云岩区春节期间烟花爆竹禁限放区域、时间..

yī huán nèi jīn rán ! yún yán qū chūn jié qī jiān yān huā bào zhú jīn xiàn fàng qū yù , shí jiān . .

No combustion in the first ring! During the Spring Festival in Yunyan District, fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited and restricted:

Tatoeba

宇宙毫无疑问是无限的。

Yǔzhòu háowúyíwèn shì wúxiàn de.

There's no doubt: the universe is infinite.

Tatoeba

对严格限制经济的批评蜂拥而来。

Duì yángé xiànzhì jīngjì de pīpíng fēngyōng ér lái.

Critics are coming down hard on tightened economic restrictions.

Tatoeba

汤姆前途无可限量。

Tāngmǔ qiántú wúkě xiàn liáng.

Tom has a brilliant future.

Tatoeba

怎么用路由器限制网速?

Zěnme yòng lùyóuqì xiànzhì wǎng sù?

How can a router be used to limit network speed?

Tatoeba

这个签证的有效期限是多久?

Zhège qiānzhèng de yǒuxiàoqī xiàn shì duōjiǔ?

How long is this visa good for?

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 阝 (place) component

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 限 (xiàn) mean in Chinese?
限 (xiàn) primarily means "to limit." It is classified as HSK Level 5, making it an advanced character. It ranks #613 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 限 and 很?
限 (xiàn) and 很 (hěn) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 阝 vs 彳 (same 艮 component).
How many strokes does 限 have?
限 is written with 8 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 限?
The radical associated with 限 is 阝 (mound). This radical appears in many characters related to mound.
What are the components of 限?
限 is composed of: 阝 (semantic), 艮 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰阝艮 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 限?
Common words with 限 include: 限制 (xiàn zhì, "to restrict"); 极限 (jí xiàn, "limit"); 无限 (wú xiàn, "unlimited"); 有限 (yǒu xiàn, "limited"); 权限 (quán xiàn, "scope of authority"). There are over 81 compound words containing this character.
Is 限 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 限 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 限 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.