Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced xian
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced xian, including 现 xiàn, 见 jiàn / xiàn, 先 xiān, 线 xiàn, 显 xiǎn. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
xian raises the front of the tongue for x, then opens into ian; keep it light and joined, with the tone over the whole syllable.
Initial x
A light, forward hissing sound.
Final ian
Settle the final ian into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (现 xiàn, 见 jiàn / xiàn, 先 xiān, 线 xiàn, 显 xiǎn) and lock in their tones. 21 common characters share the sound xian, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
xian 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: 先, 鲜, 仙… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 闲, 嫌, 贤… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 显, 险 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 现, 见, 线… (9 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing xian inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
21 common characters in this group.