现 (xiàn): to appear, present, now
现 (xiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to appear.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 王 (structural) and 见 (structural). It ranks #70 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 现 to see 见 jade 王; 见 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 王 (jade) appears in many related characters such as 玩 (wán, to play), 班 (bān, team), 球 (qiú, ball used for playing games (variant of 球)).
Definitions
- to appear
- present
- now
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo see 见 jade 王; 见 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰王见 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 现 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 现
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 现在noun | xiàn zài | now | 1 |
| 发现verb | fā xiàn | to notice | 3 |
| 出现verb | chū xiàn | to appear | 4 |
| 表现verb | biǎo xiàn | to show | 4 |
| 现场noun | xiàn chǎng | the scene (of a crime, accident etc) | 5 |
| 现实noun/adjective | xiàn shí | reality | 5 |
| 实现verb | shí xiàn | to achieve | 5 |
| 现金noun | xiàn jīn | cash | 4 |
| 展现verb | zhǎn xiàn | to unfold before one's eyes | 5 |
| 现象noun | xiàn xiàng | phenomenon | 5 |
| 现代noun/adjective | xiàn dài | modern times | 5 |
| 呈现verb | chéng xiàn | to appear | 6 |
| 体现verb | tǐ xiàn | to embody | 5 |
| 现状noun | xiàn zhuàng | current situation | 5 |
| 现有verb/adjective | xiàn yǒu | currently existing | 4 |
| 现代化verb | xiàn dài huà | modernization | 5 |
| 现存verb | xiàn cún | extant | 6 |
| 涌现verb | yǒng xiàn | to emerge in large numbers | 6 |
| 现货noun | xiàn huò | merchandise or commodities available immediately after sale | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 现代舞noun | xiàn dài wǔ | modern dance |
| 兑现verb | duì xiàn | (of a check etc) to cash |
| 现身verb | xiàn shēn | to show oneself |
| 重现verb | chóng xiàn | to reappear |
| 显现verb | xiǎn xiàn | appearance |
| 浮现verb | fú xiàn | (of a thought or image) to come to mind |
| 再现noun | zài xiàn | to recreate |
| 现任verb | xiàn rèn | to occupy a post currently |
| 现今adverb | xiàn jīn | now |
| 闪现verb | shǎn xiàn | to flash |
| 现成adjective | xiàn chéng | ready-made |
| 现行adjective | xiàn xíng | to be in effect |
| 丢人现眼phrase | diū rén xiàn yǎn | to make an exhibition of oneself |
| 表现力noun | biǎo xiàn lì | expressive power |
现 appears in 100 compound words: 57 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 10 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 现 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to be content with the status quo (and unwilling to progress); to take things as they are
living spirit, living image (idiom); true to life; vivid and realistic
Example Sentences
现在的科技发展速度真是令人难以置信。
Xiànzài de kējì fāzhǎn sùdù zhēnshi lìng rén nányǐ zhìxìn.
The current pace of technological development is truly unbelievable.
小伙出售前女友送的银手镯,剪开发现内芯为30克高纯..
xiǎo huǒ chū shòu qián nǚ yǒu sòng de yín shǒu 镯 , jiǎn kāi fā xiàn nèi xīn wéi kè gāo chún . .
The guy sold his ex-girlfriend to send the silver bracelet, cut open and found that the core for 30 grams of high-purity...
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught in the act! Philippine Maritime Police Drop Unidentified Objects in South China Sea
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
Philippine Maritime Police caught dropping unidentified objects in the South China Sea, surveillance footage released
多国媒体:春晚人形机器人表演展现中国人工智能飞速发..
duō guó méi tī chūn wǎn rén xíng jī qì rén biǎo yǎn zhǎn xiàn zhōng guó rén gōng zhì néng fēi sù fā . .
Global Media: Spring Festival Gala's Humanoid Robot Performance Showcases China's Rapid AI Advancements
新春跨境消费实现“丝滑”扫码,解锁人民币“走出去”..
xīn chūn kuà jìng xiāo fèi shí xiàn sī huá sǎo mǎ , xiè suǒ rén mín bì zǒu chū qù . .
Cross-border consumption during the Spring Festival achieved seamless QR code scanning, unlocking the path for renminbi to go global.
你知道现在哪本书卖得好吗？
Nǐ zhīdào xiànzài nǎ běn shū mài de hǎo ma?
Do you know which book sells well now?
我现在可以回家吗？
Wǒ xiànzài kěyǐ huíjiā ma?
Can I go home now?
可以借点钱给我吗？我现在有点缺钱。
Kěyǐ jiè diǎn qián gěi wǒ ma? wǒ xiànzài yǒudiǎn quēqián.
Could you lend me some money? I'm short of cash at the moment.
你现在该上学去了吧？
Nǐ xiànzài gāi shàngxué qù le ba?
It's high time you left for school, isn't it?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 现 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 现 with real-time feedback
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