香 (xiāng): fragrant, sweet smelling, aromatic
香 (xiāng) is a Chinese character meaning “fragrant.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禾 (structural) and 日 (structural). It ranks #776 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 香 a herb 禾 with a sweet 甘 smell. Its radical form 香 (fragrant) appears in many related characters such as 馨 (xīn, fragrant).
Definitions
- fragrant
- sweet smelling
- aromatic
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA herb 禾 with a sweet 甘 smell
Decomposition: ⿱禾日 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 香 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 香
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 香槟noun | xiāng bīn | (loanword) champagne |
| 香烟noun | xiāng yān | smoke from incense (burned as an offering to one's ancestors) |
| 口香糖noun | kǒu xiāng táng | chewing gum |
| 香港proper-noun | xiāng gǎng | Hong Kong, special administrative region (SAR) of the PRC (short name 港) |
| 香草noun | xiāng cǎo | aromatic herb |
| 香味noun | xiāng wèi | fragrance |
| 香料noun | xiāng liào | spice |
| 香槟酒 | xiāng bīn jiǔ | (loanword) champagne |
| 郁金香noun | yù jīn xiāng | tulip |
| 芳香adjective | fāng xiāng | fragrant |
| 香皂noun | xiāng zào | perfumed soap |
| 香椿noun | xiāng chūn | Chinese toon (Toona sinensis), deciduous tree whose young leaves are used as a vegetable |
| 茴香noun | huí xiāng | fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) |
| 香格里拉 | xiāng gé lǐ lā | Shangri-la, the beautiful, idyllic land of James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon" |
| 香气noun | xiāng qì | fragrance |
香 appears in 104 compound words: 57 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 1 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 香 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
lit. to eat delicious food and drink hard liquor (idiom); fig. to live well
lit. to feel the taste in one's mouth (idiom); fig. to water at the mouth; to drool in anticipation
to choose which Buddha to burn incense to (idiom); fig. to curry favor from the right person
lit. to feel the taste in one's mouth (idiom); fig. to water at the mouth; to drool in anticipation
to choose which Buddha to burn incense to (idiom); fig. to curry favor from the right person
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 香.
Example Sentences
学习香字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí xiāng zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "香" requires repeated practice to write it neatly.
...一间! 藏寿司首度进军东台湾 插旗“日出香榭大道”征才中
. . . yī jiān ! zàng shòu sī shǒu dù jìn jūn dōng tái wān chā qí rì chū xiāng 榭 dà dào zhēng cái zhōng
... One! Tibetan sushi entered eastern Taiwan for the first time and planted the flag on the "Sunrise Champs-Élysées" recruitment
香港铁路引入中国标淮 可望减成本 惟评论忧...
xiāng gǎng tiě lù yǐn rù zhōng guó biāo huái kě wàng jiǎn chéng běn 惟 píng lùn yōu . . .
Hong Kong Railway's introduction of China's standard Huai is expected to reduce costs, but comments are worried...
巴拿马强行接管李嘉诚旗下两大港口 香港政府与长和严正抗议
bā ná mǎ qiáng háng jiē guǎn lǐ jiā chéng qí xià liǎng dà gǎng kǒu xiāng gǎng zhèng fǔ yǔ cháng hé yán zhèng kàng yì
Panama forcibly took over Li Ka-shing's two major ports The Hong Kong government protested with Chang and Zheng
河川地生长香氛植物“石荠薴” 花莲光复乡民尝试复育
hé chuān dì shēng cháng xiāng fēn zhí wù shí 荠 薴 huā lián guāng fù xiāng mín cháng shì fù yù
The fragrant plant "Shi Shen Zhi" grows in the river land, and the villagers of Hualien Guangfu try to restore it
茶香氤氲,温情暖暖~看阿婆爷叔如何解锁“行云...
chá xiāng 氤 氲 , wēn qíng nuǎn nuǎn kàn ā pó yé shū rú hé jiě suǒ háng yún . . .
The fragrance of tea is fragrant, warm and warm~ See how grandma and uncle unlock "Xingyun...
你闻闻香味，五香茶叶蛋香不香？
Nǐ wén wén xiāngwèi, wǔxiāng cháyèdàn xiāng bù xiāng?
You smell it. Do five spice tea eggs smell good?
她在嚼口香糖，是吗？
Tā zài jiáo kǒuxiāngtáng, shì ma?
She's chewing gum, isn't she?
我一定要把香烟戒了！
Wǒ yīdìngyào bǎ xiāngyān jiè le!
I'm definitely going to quit smoking!
你要培根还是要香肠?
Nǐ yào péigēn háishi yào xiāngcháng?
Would you like bacon or sausage?
Character Family
香 Radical Family — Characters sharing the fragrant radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 香 (xiāng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 香 and 苦?
How many strokes does 香 have?
What is the radical of 香?
What are the components of 香?
What are common words containing 香?
What characters sound the same as 香 (xiāng)?
Is 香 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 香 with real-time feedback
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