薪 (xīn): (literary) firewood, fuel, (bound form) salary
薪 (xīn) is a Chinese character meaning “(literary) firewood.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (structural) and 新 (structural). It ranks #2119 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 薪 freshly-cut 新 wood 艹; 新 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 花 (huā, flower), 茶 (chá, tea), 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish).
Definitions
- (literary) firewood
- fuel
- (bound form) salary
Etymology & Origin
ideographicFreshly-cut 新 wood 艹; 新 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱艹新 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 薪 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 薪
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 加薪verb | jiā xīn | to raise salary |
| 高薪noun | gāo xīn | high salary |
| 年薪noun | nián xīn | annual salary |
| 薪金noun | xīn jīn | salary |
| 薪资noun | xīn zī | salary |
| 周薪noun | zhōu xīn | weekly salary |
| 杯水车薪phrase | bēi shuǐ chē xīn | lit. a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood (idiom) |
| 工薪阶层noun | gōng xīn jiē céng | salaried class |
| 卧薪尝胆phrase | wò xīn cháng dǎn | (lit.) to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Goujian of Yue 勾踐|勾践, in order to recall one's hum... |
| 月薪noun | yuè xīn | monthly income (in kind) |
| 底薪noun | dǐ xīn | basic salary |
| 停薪留职 | tíng xīn liú zhí | leave of absence without pay |
| 薪俸noun | xīn fèng | salary |
| 工薪族 | gōng xīn zú | salaried class |
| 薪饷noun | xīn xiǎng | (old) (military and police) pay |
薪 appears in 45 compound words: 22 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 29 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 薪 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to adopt a wrong method to save a situation and end up by making it worse
to take preventive measures; to take precautions (to prevent trouble from happening)
to undergo self-imposed hardships; to nurse vengeance; to endure hardships to accomplish some ambition
to pass down (good tradition, knowledge, skill, etc.) from generation to generation
knowledge or a skill is passed on from generation to generation (from teacher to student)
to adopt a wrong method to save a situation and end up by making it worse
to undergo self-imposed hardships; to nurse vengeance; to endure hardships to accomplish some ambition
to pass down (good tradition, knowledge, skill, etc.) from generation to generation
knowledge or a skill is passed on from generation to generation (from teacher to student)
Example Sentences
薪字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
xīn zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "薪" is written is quite unique and has left a deep impression on me.
领时薪比月薪高,打工当道?为何他们选择非典型工...
lǐng shí xīn bǐ yuè xīn gāo , dǎ gōng dāng dào ? wéi hé tā men xuǎn zé fēi diǎn xíng gōng . . .
Receiving an hourly wage is higher than a monthly salary, and part-time work is in charge? Why do they choose atypical workers...
...案2026懒人包|派钱加免税额/公务员加薪/电车一换一完结
. . . àn 2 0 2 6 lǎn rén bāo pài qián jiā miǎn shuì é gōng wù yuán jiā xīn diàn chē yī huàn yī wán jié
... Case 2026 Lazy Bag|Distribute money plus tax exemption/civil servant salary increase/tram for one for one end
《财政预算案》:据报公务员有望“重获”加薪
cái zhèng yù suàn àn : jù bào gōng wù yuán yǒu wàng chóng huò jiā xīn
Budget: Civil servants are reportedly expected to "regain" their salary increases
...测25日放榜!热门科系出炉 2系出路广起薪高
. . . cè 2 5 rì fàng bǎng ! rè mén kē xì chū lú 2 xì chū lù guǎng qǐ xīn gāo
... The results will be released on the 25th! Popular departments are released, and the 2 departments have a wide range of careers and high starting salaries
韩平均年薪4500万? 数据:过半不足3400万
hán píng jūn nián xīn 4 5 0 0 wàn ? shǔ jù : guò bàn bù zú 3 4 0 0 wàn
South Korea's average annual salary is 45 million? Data: More than half is less than 34 million
汤姆正考虑应聘薪酬更高的工作。
Tāngmǔ zhèng kǎolǜ yìngpìn xīnchóu gèng gāo de gōngzuò.
Tom is thinking about applying for a better-paying job.
他赚的薪水是我的两倍。
Tā zhuàn de xīnshuǐ shì wǒ de liǎngbèi.
He earns twice as much as me.
以他的薪水不会很富裕。
Yǐ tā de xīnshuǐ bù huì hěn fùyù.
He won't get fat on his salary.
他退休时的薪金并不高。
Tā tuìxiū shí de xīnjīn bìngbù gāo.
He wasn't earning a large salary when he retired.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 薪 (xīn)?
Is 薪 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 薪 with real-time feedback
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