形 (xíng): to appear, to look, form
形 (xíng) is a Chinese character meaning “to appear.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 开 (structural) and 彡 (structural). It ranks #269 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 形 sunlight 彡 streaming through a window 开. Its radical form 彡 (bristle) appears in many related characters such as 影 (yǐng, picture), 彩 (cǎi, (bright) color), 彬 (bīn, urbane).
Definitions
- to appear
- to look
- form
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSunlight 彡 streaming through a window 开
Decomposition: ⿰开彡 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 形 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 形
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 形象noun/adjective | xíng xiàng | image | 5 |
| 形容verb | xíng róng | to describe | 5 |
| 形式noun | xíng shì | outer appearance | 5 |
| 情形noun | qíng xing | circumstances | 6 |
| 形成verb | xíng chéng | to form | 5 |
| 形状noun | xíng zhuàng | form | 5 |
| 形势noun | xíng shì | circumstances | 5 |
| 外形noun | wài xíng | figure | 5 |
| 地形noun | dì xíng | topography | 6 |
| 形态noun | xíng tài | shape | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 隐形 | yǐn xíng | invisible |
| 整形 | zhěng xíng | shaping |
| 变形 | biàn xíng | to become deformed |
| 畸形 | jī xíng | deformed |
| 圆形 | yuán xíng | round |
| 体形 | tǐ xíng | figure |
| 无形 | wú xíng | incorporeal |
| 队形 | duì xíng | formation |
| 人形 | rén xíng | human form |
| 原形 | yuán xíng | original shape |
| 身形 | shēn xíng | figure (esp. a woman's) |
| 方形 | fāng xíng | square |
| 图形 | tú xíng | picture |
| 形体 | xíng tǐ | figure |
| 有形 | yǒu xíng | material |
形 appears in 100 compound words: 28 as the first character, 68 as the last, and 4 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 形 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
ineffectual; futile; with the setup or appearance but without the intended utility; set up but useless
ineffectual; futile; with the setup or appearance but without the intended utility; set up but useless
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 形.
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了形字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le xíng zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .
I looked up the detailed explanation of the character "形" in the dictionary.
韩籍“六本柱”成形!乐天女孩补齐6外援
hán jí liù běn zhù chéng xíng ! lè tiān nǚ hái bǔ qí 6 wài yuán
The "six pillars" of Korean nationality have taken shape! Lotte girls make up for 6 foreign aid
港股概念追踪 | 春晚人形机器人爆火出圈!机构预计今年年产业链迎来...
gǎng gǔ gài niàn zhuī zōng chūn wǎn rén xíng jī qì rén bào huǒ chū juān ! jī gòu yù jì jīn nián nián chǎn yè liàn yíng lái . . .
Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | The humanoid robot of the Spring Festival Gala exploded out of the circle! The agency expects that this year's industrial chain will usher in...
乐天女孩抛震撼弹!韩籍“六本柱”成形 一次补齐6外援冲回天花板
lè tiān nǚ hái pāo zhèn hàn dàn ! hán jí liù běn zhù chéng xíng yī cì bǔ qí 6 wài yuán chōng huí tiān huā bǎn
Lotte girls throw shock bombs! The Korean "six pillars" took shape, and 6 foreign aid rushed back to the ceiling at a time
乐天女孩拚了!韩籍“六本柱”成形 一次冲回天花板
lè tiān nǚ hái 拚 le ! hán jí liù běn zhù chéng xíng yī cì chōng huí tiān huā bǎn
Lotte girl is fighting! The Korean "six pillars" took shape and rushed back to the ceiling at once
宇宙是怎样形成的？
Yǔzhòu shì zěnyàng xíngchéng de?
How was the universe formed?
你看过富士山吗? 它美得无法形容。
Nǐ kàn guo Fùshì Shān ma? tā měi déwú fǎ xíngróng.
Have you ever seen Mt. Fuji? It is beautiful beyond description.
你找到你的隐形眼镜了吗？
Nǐ zhǎodào nǐ de yǐnxíngyǎnjìng le ma?
Did you find your contact lenses?
这种水果形状像橙子，味道像菠萝。
Zhèzhǒng shuǐguǒ xíngzhuàng xiàng chéngzi, wèidao xiàng bōluó.
This fruit is shaped like an orange and tastes like a pineapple.
地球的外形和橙子相似。
Dìqiú de wàixíng hé chéngzi xiāngsì.
The earth is similar to an orange in shape.
Character Family
彡 Radical Family — Characters sharing the bristle radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 形 (xíng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 形 have?
What is the radical of 形?
What are the components of 形?
What are common words containing 形?
What characters sound the same as 形 (xíng)?
Is 形 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 形 with real-time feedback
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