Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced xi
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced xi, including 西 xī, 系 xì, 息 xī, 希 xī, 细 xì. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
xi is a light, forward hiss with the front of the tongue near the palate — softer than English “sh”. The i is a clear “ee”.
Initial x
A light, forward hissing sound.
Final i
After zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, this i is not the clear “ee” in see.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (西 xī, 系 xì, 息 xī, 希 xī, 细 xì) and lock in their tones. 29 common characters share the sound xi, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
xi turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 西, 息, 希… (17 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 习, 席, 袭… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 喜, 洗, 禧 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 系, 细, 戏… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing xi inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
29 common characters in this group.