馅 (xiàn): filling, stuffing (for dumplings, pies etc)
馅 (xiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “filling.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 饣 (structural) and 臽 (structural). It ranks #2964 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 馅 food 饣 stuffed in a hole 臽; 臽 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 饣 (eat) appears in many related characters such as 饭 (fàn, meal, rice), 饿 (è, hungry), 馆 (guǎn, restaurant, hall).
Definitions
- filling
- stuffing (for dumplings, pies etc)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicFood 饣 stuffed in a hole 臽; 臽 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰饣臽 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 馅 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 馅饼 | xiàn bǐng | meat pie |
| 露馅 | lòu xiàn | to leak |
| 肉馅 | ròu xiàn | ground meat |
| 馅儿饼 | xiàn r bǐng | erhua variant of 餡餅|馅饼[xian4 bing3] |
| 馅儿 | xiàn r | erhua variant of 餡|馅[xian4] |
| 夹馅 | jiā xiàn | stuffed (of food) |
| 天上不会掉馅饼 | tiān shàng bù huì diào xiàn bǐng | there is no such thing as a free lunch (idiom) |
| 天上掉馅饼 | tiān shàng diào xiàn bǐng | a meat pie falls from the sky (idiom) |
| 露馅儿 | lòu xiàn r | erhua variant of 露餡|露馅[lou4 xian4] |
| 乐颠了馅 | lè diān le xiàn | ecstatic |
| 内馅 | nèi xiàn | (Tw) filling |
| 果馅饼 | guǒ xiàn bǐng | tart |
| 馅料 | xiàn liào | filling |
| 羊肉馅 | yáng ròu xiàn | minced mutton |
| 素馅 | sù xiàn | vegetable filling |
馅 appears in 16 compound words: 25 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 31 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 馅 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
馅欲不振可能是身体发出的警告信号。
xiàn yù bù zhèn kě néng shì shēn tī fā chū de jǐng gào xìn háo .
Loss of appetite may be a warning sign from your body.
...!纽币贬值叠加全球短缺,新西兰国民美食肉馅派可能都要吃不起了......
. . . ! niǔ bì biǎn zhí dié jiā quán qiú duǎn quē , xīn xī lán guó mín měi shí ròu xiàn pài kě néng dōu yāo chī bù qǐ le . . . . . .
...! With the New Zealand dollar depreciating and global shortages piling on, New Zealanders may soon find themselves unable to afford their national dish, the meat pie......
...镜头! 阿伯假吃馒头、大婚戏她戴口罩全露馅
. . . jìng tóu ! ā bó jiǎ chī mán tóu , dà hūn xì tā dài kǒu zhào quán lù xiàn
...On camera! The old man pretends to eat a steamed bun, and she gives herself away while wearing a mask during the wedding scene
元宵节必吃十大食物中哪些易致敏?花生芝麻馅需警惕过敏源吗
yuán xiāo jié bì chī shí dà shí wù zhōng nǎ xiē yì zhì mǐn ? huā shēng zhī má xiàn xū jǐng tì guò mǐn yuán ma
Which of the top 10 must-eat foods for the Lantern Festival are likely to cause allergies? Should you be wary of allergens in peanut and sesame fillings?
...侵占Apple Watch!住家遭定位露馅处罚金1万2千元
. . . qīn zhàn A p p l e W a t c h ! zhù jiā zāo dìng wèi lù xiàn chǔ fá jīn 1 wàn 2 qiān yuán
... Encroachment on Apple Watch! The home was fined 12,000 yuan for positioning
倒酱油、拌肉馅,看春晚机器人化身“新春大厨”
dǎo jiàng yóu , bàn ròu xiàn , kàn chūn wǎn jī qì rén huà shēn xīn chūn dà chú
Pour soy sauce, mix meat filling, and watch the Spring Festival Gala robot transform into a "New Year chef"
这饺子是什么馅的啊？
Zhè jiǎozi shì shénme xiàn de a?
What is the filling in these dumplings?
有人想要更多的馅饼吗？
Yǒurén xiǎngyào gèng duō de xiànbǐng ma?
Does anyone want some more pie?
你要再来一块馅饼吗？
Nǐ yào zài lái yīkuài xiànbǐng ma?
Will you have another slice of pie?
谁做的这个馅饼？
Shéi zuò de zhège xiànbǐng?
Who made this pie?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 馅 (xiàn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 馅 have?
What is the radical of 馅?
What are the components of 馅?
What are common words containing 馅?
What characters sound the same as 馅 (xiàn)?
Is 馅 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 馅 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.