Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

bow string; string of mus. instr.; string of mus. instr.

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “xian” becomes a different word in each tone. 弦 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 扣人心弦kòu rén xīn xiánto excite; to thrill; exciting; thrilling
  • 上弦shàng xiánto wind up a watch, clockwork toy etc; to tighten the string of a bow, violin etc; first quarter (phase of the moon)
  • 和弦hé xián(music) chord
  • 下弦xià xiánlast quarter, aka third quarter (phase of the moon)
  • 定弦dìng xiántuning (stringed instrument); (fig.) to make up one's mind

Example Sentence

这把吉他的弦断了一根。Zhè bǎ jí tā de xián duàn le yì gēn.One string of this guitar has broken.

Zhèthis(marks the object)吉他jí tā(loanword) guitardeofxiánbow stringduànto breakle(completed action)onegēnroot