相 (xiāng): mutual, appearance
相 (xiāng) is a Chinese character meaning “mutual, appearance.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (structural) and 目 (structural). It ranks #152 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 相 to stare 目 at a tree 木, meaning to observe. Its radical form 目 (eye) appears in many related characters such as 看 (kàn, to look, to see), 真 (zhēn, really), 着 (zhe, -ing, to wear).
Definitions
- mutual, appearance
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo stare 目 at a tree 木, meaning to observe
Decomposition: ⿰木目 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 相 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 相
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 相信verb | xiāng xìn | to believe | 3 |
| 真相noun | zhēn xiàng | the truth about sth | 6 |
| 相当verb/adverb | xiāng dāng | equivalent to | 5 |
| 互相adverb | hù xiāng | each other | 4 |
| 相处verb | xiāng chǔ | to be in contact (with sb) | 5 |
| 相同adjective | xiāng tóng | identical | 4 |
| 相关verb | xiāng guān | related | 5 |
| 相互adverb | xiāng hù | each other | 4 |
| 相反adjective/conjunction | xiāng fǎn | opposite | 4 |
| 相机noun | xiàng jī | camera (abbr. for 照相機|照相机) | 3 |
| 相似adjective | xiāng sì | similar | 5 |
| 相比verb | xiāng bǐ | to compare | 4 |
| 照相verb | zhào xiàng | to take a photograph | 3 |
| 相对verb/adjective | xiāng duì | relatively | 5 |
| 相连verb | xiāng lián | to link | 6 |
| 相应verb | xiāng yìng | to correspond | 6 |
| 相册noun | xiàng cè | photo album | 5 |
| 相差verb | xiāng chà | to differ | 6 |
| 相声noun | xiàng sheng | comic dialogue | 6 |
| 相传verb | xiāng chuán | to pass on | 6 |
| 相等verb | xiāng děng | equal | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 相爱verb | xiāng ài | to love each other |
| 相遇verb | xiāng yù | to meet |
| 相符verb | xiāng fú | to match |
| 首相noun | shǒu xiàng | prime minister (of Japan or UK etc) |
| 相片noun | xiàng piàn | image |
| 长相 | zhǎng xiàng | appearance |
| 照相机noun | zhào xiàng jī | camera |
| 相识verb | xiāng shí | to get to know each other |
| 相见verb | xiāng jiàn | to see each other |
| 相亲verb | xiāng qīn | blind date |
| 相伴 | xiāng bàn | to accompany sb |
| 恰恰相反 | qià qià xiāng fǎn | just the opposite |
| 相聚verb | xiāng jù | to meet together |
| 刮目相看phrase | guā mù xiāng kàn | to have a whole new level of respect for sb or sth |
相 appears in 119 compound words: 62 as the first character, 28 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 相 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (72)
to become stagnant or obsolete due to rigid adherence to tradition; to be devoid of any innovation
to share common bad interests and tastes and get along; to share common interests and aspirations and get along
to be closely related and mutually dependent (like the lips and teeth)
Showing 12 of 72 idioms containing 相.
Example Sentences
相信你的能力，这个任务一定能完成得很好。
Xiāngxìn nǐ de nénglì, zhè gè rènwu yídìng néng wánchéng de hěn hǎo.
Believe in your ability; this task will definitely be completed very well.
明真相大陆民众新年感恩:大法师父好
míng zhēn xiāng dà lù mín zhòng xīn nián gǎn ēn : dà fǎ shī fù hǎo
The people of the mainland are grateful for the New Year: Hello Master Dafa
中国公务员春节参加相亲 炫富有宾利、保时捷、房子很多
zhōng guó gōng wù yuán chūn jié cān jiā xiāng qīn xuàn fù yǒu bīn lì , bǎo shí jié , fáng zǐ hěn duō
Chinese civil servants participate in the blind date during the Spring Festival and show off their wealth Bentley, Porsche, and many houses
米兰冬奥|有爱人也有惺惺相惜的对手,王心迪与瑞士选..
mǐ lán dōng ào yǒu ài rén yě yǒu 惺 惺 xiāng xī de duì shǒu , wáng xīn dí yǔ ruì shì xuǎn . .
Milan Winter Olympics|There are lovers and sympathetic opponents, Wang Xindi and Switzerland choos:
不只是相信“相信的力量”——速滑团体追逐夺牌的背...
bù zhī shì xiāng xìn xiāng xìn de lì liáng sù huá tuán tī zhuī zhú duó pái de bēi . . .
Not Just Believing in the "Power of Belief"—The Backstory of Speed Skating Team Pursuit's Medal Bid...
睿尔曼亮相北京卫视春晚,化身“新春大厨”让机器人走...
睿 ěr 曼 liàng xiāng běi jīng wèi shì chūn wǎn , huā shēn xīn chūn dà chú ràng jī qì rén zǒu . . .
Rui'erman made its debut on Beijing TV's Spring Festival Gala, transforming into a "New Year Chef" to showcase robotics...
你能用这台相机帮我们拍张照吗？
Nǐ néng yòng zhè tái xiàngjī bāng wǒmen pāi zhāng zhào ma?
Would you take a picture of us with this camera?
你是带着相机去吗？
Nǐ shì dài zhe xiàngjī qù ma?
Are you bringing your camera?
你在哪儿修的照相机？
Nǐ zài nǎr xiū de zhàoxiàngjī?
Where did you get your camera repaired?
我不相信谣言。你相信吗？
Wǒ bù xiāngxìn yáoyán. nǐ xiāngxìn ma?
I don't believe the rumours. Do you believe them?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 相 (xiāng)?
Is 相 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 相 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.