胸 (xiōng): chest, bosom, heart, mind, thorax
胸 (xiōng) is a Chinese character meaning “chest.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺼ (structural) and 匈 (structural). It ranks #1348 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 胸 a heart ⺼ in the chest 匈; 匈 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 肉 (meat) appears in many related characters such as 肉 (ròu, meat), 能 (néng, can), 背 (bèi, the back of a body or object).
Definitions
- chest
- bosom
- heart
- mind
- thorax
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA heart ⺼ in the chest 匈; 匈 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰⺼匈 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 胸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 胸部 | xiōng bù | chest |
| 胸口 | xiōng kǒu | chest |
| 胸罩 | xiōng zhào | brassiere (underwear) |
| 胸腔 | xiōng qiāng | thoracic cavity |
| 胸前 | xiōng qián | (on the) chest |
| 胸膛 | xiōng táng | chest |
| 心胸 | xīn xiōng | heart |
| 胸脯 | xiōng pú | chest |
| 胸骨 | xiōng gǔ | sternum |
| 鸡胸 | jī xiōng | chicken breast |
| 胸肌 | xiōng jī | pectoral muscles |
| 胸怀 | xiōng huái | one's bosom (the seat of emotions) |
| 胸中 | xiōng zhōng | one's mind |
| 胸围 | xiōng wéi | chest measurement |
| 气胸 | qì xiōng | pneumothorax (medicine) |
胸 appears in 100 compound words: 39 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 41 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 胸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
head high, chest out (idiom); to keep up one's spirits; in fine mettle (of animal)
lit. stamping and beating the chest (idiom); fig. angry or stressed about sth
righteous indignation fills one's breast (idiom); to feel indignant at injustice
head high, chest out (idiom); to keep up one's spirits; in fine mettle (of animal)
lit. stamping and beating the chest (idiom); fig. angry or stressed about sth
Example Sentences
他挺胸抬头，自信地走上了舞台。
Tā tǐng xiōng táitóu, zìxìn de zǒu shàng le wǔtái.
He held his head high and walked onto the stage confidently.
65岁林瑞阳惊传胸腔动刀!张庭回应了
6 5 suì lín ruì yáng jīng chuán xiōng qiāng dòng dāo ! zhāng tíng huí yīng le
65-year-old Lin Ruiyang was shocked to hear that he had a chest knife! Zhang Ting responded
夜王|郑秀文被要求胸部垫Pad演V姐 Sammi..每边do...
yè wáng zhèng xiù wén bèi yāo qiú xiōng bù diàn P a d yǎn V jiě S a m m i . . měi biān d o . . .
Night King|Sammi Cheng was asked to play Sister V with a pad on her chest. Every side do...
27岁男健身突胸痛肿胀 竟是罕见“胸大肌断裂”
2 7 suì nán jiàn shēn tū xiōng tòng zhǒng zhàng jìng shì hǎn jiàn xiōng dà jī duàn liè
The 27-year-old man's sudden chest pain and swelling during fitness is actually a rare "pectoralis major muscle rupture"
蔡瑞雪清纯校花形象大崩坏?橙发低胸辣照疯传 网:差点认不出来
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 lái
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
...半年卖出800多只点翠大蟑螂,还推出苍蝇胸针、..
. . . bàn nián mài chū duō zhī diǎn cuì dà 蟑 螂 , hái tuī chū cāng yíng xiōng zhēn . .
... Sold more than 800 large cockroaches in half a year, also introduced fly brooches,...
宝石师傅在胸针上镶了一枚大珍珠。
Bǎoshí shīfu zài xiōngzhēn shàng xiāng le yī méi dà zhēnzhū.
The jeweler mounted a big pearl in the brooch.
他的胸中还有足够的斗志。
Tā de xiōngzhōng háiyǒu zúgòu de dòuzhì.
He had plenty of fight left in him.
玛丽把钱藏在了文胸里。
Mǎlì bǎ qián cáng zài le wénxiōng lǐ.
Mary hid the money in her bra.
她买了一件新抹胸。
Tā mǎi le yī jiàn xīn mòxiōng.
She bought a new "moxiong".
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 胸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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