xuān
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 warm (especially of sunshine)
  2. 2 soft and fluffy (of bread, dough)

Examples

Jīntiān yángguāng hěn xuān.
Today's sunshine is warm and gentle.
Zhè tì mántou zhēng de hěn xuān.
This batch of steamed buns came out nice and fluffy.

Tips

usage
Two distinct everyday senses: (1) 'gently warm' for sunshine or air — (xuānfēng) is a soft spring breeze; (2) 'soft and fluffy' for dough/bread, the texture sense. Northern dialects keep sense (2) very alive when judging mantou and bread.
mistakes
Don't confuse (xuān 'warm/fluffy') with (xuān 'noisy', as in 喧哗 xuānhuá). Same pinyin, different radical: (sun) for warm; (mouth) for noisy.

Stroke Order

xuān