象 (xiàng): elephant, CL:隻|只, shape
象 (xiàng) is a Chinese character meaning “elephant.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺈ (structural), 口 (structural) and 豕 (semantic). It ranks #300 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 象 boar. Its radical form 豕 (pig) appears in many related characters such as 豪 (háo, grand), 豫 (yù, abbr. for Henan province 河南 in central China).
Definitions
- elephant
- CL:隻|只
- shape
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticboar
Decomposition: ⿳⺈口豕 (layout: top-middle-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 象 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 象
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 想象verb | xiǎng xiàng | to imagine | 5 |
| 印象noun | yìn xiàng | impression (sth that stays in one's mind) | 4 |
| 对象noun | duì xiàng | target | 5 |
| 形象noun/adjective | xíng xiàng | image | 5 |
| 现象noun | xiàn xiàng | phenomenon | 5 |
| 象征verb/noun | xiàng zhēng | emblem | 5 |
| 大象noun | dà xiàng | elephant | 5 |
| 景象noun | jǐng xiàng | scene | 6 |
| 象棋noun | xiàng qí | Chinese chess | 6 |
| 抽象adjective | chōu xiàng | abstract | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 迹象 | jì xiàng | sign |
| 想象力 | xiǎng xiàng lì | imagination |
| 幻象 | huàn xiàng | illusion |
| 气象 | qì xiàng | meteorological condition |
| 假象 | jiǎ xiàng | false appearance |
| 象牙 | xiàng yá | ivory |
| 象征性 | xiàng zhēng xìng | symbolic |
| 国际象棋 | guó jì xiàng qí | chess |
| 海象 | hǎi xiàng | walrus |
| 表象 | biǎo xiàng | outward appearance |
| 象话 | xiàng huà | variant of 像話|像话[xiang4 hua4] |
| 象限 | xiàng xiàn | (math.) quadrant (of the coordinate plane) |
| 印象派 | yìn xiàng pài | impressionism |
| 象牙塔 | xiàng yá tǎ | ivory tower |
| 气象学 | qì xiàng xué | meteorology |
象 appears in 100 compound words: 25 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 20 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 象 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
stereotype (conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image)
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 象.
Example Sentences
象字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
xiàng zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character for "elephant" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
男生小便完甩一下是文化习惯还是生理现象?全球男性普遍如此吗
nán shēng xiǎo biàn wán shuǎi yī xià shì wén huà xí guàn hái shì shēng lǐ xiàn xiàng ? quán qiú nán xìng pǔ biàn rú cǐ ma
Is it a cultural habit or a physiological phenomenon for boys to urinate? Is this common among men around the world?
竹县爱讲“客”推学校客语能力 扩大奖励对象
zhú xiàn ài jiǎng kè tuī xué jiào kè yǔ néng lì kuò dà jiǎng lì duì xiàng
Zhu County loves to speak "guests" and promote the school's Hakka language ability to expand the reward objects
淑丽气象/首波春雨来了!2波锋面通过 连假天气曝
淑 lí qì xiàng shǒu bō chūn yǔ lái le ! 2 bō fēng miàn tōng guò lián jiǎ tiān qì pù
Shuli weather/The first wave of spring rain is coming! 2 waves of fronts passed through the holiday weather
...emeester 释出 2026 春夏形象企划
. . . e m e e s t e r shì chū 2 0 2 6 chūn xià xíng xiàng qǐ huá
... emeester releases its 2026 spring/summer image plan
蔡瑞雪清纯校花形象大崩坏?橙发低胸辣照疯传 网:差点认不出...
蔡 ruì xuě qīng chún jiào huā xíng xiàng dà bēng huài ? chéng fā dī xiōng là zhào fēng chuán wǎng : chā diǎn rèn bù chū . . .
Cai Ruixue's image of a pure school flower collapsed? Orange-haired low-cut spicy photos went viral on the Internet: I almost couldn't recognize it...
你对美国印象如何？
Nǐ duì Měi guó yìnxiàng rúhé?
What is your impression of America?
我们被那景象吓了一跳。
Wǒmen bèi nà jǐngxiàng xià le yī tiào.
We were surprised at the sight.
他没有进步的迹象。
Tā méiyǒu jìnbù de jìxiàng.
He shows no mark of progress.
这雨没有要停的迹象。
Zhè yǔ méiyǒu yào tíng de jìxiàng.
The rain shows no sign of stopping.
Character Family
豕 Radical Family — Characters sharing the pig radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 象 (xiàng) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 象?
What are the components of 象?
What are common words containing 象?
What characters sound the same as 象 (xiàng)?
Is 象 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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