熙 (xī) · bright, prosperous, genial

Meanings

1 bright
2 prosperous
3 genial
4 used in names

Characters

熙

xī

bright; prosperous; genial

Examples

HSK 7-9

熙熙攘攘的市场充满了活力。

Xīxīrǎngrǎng de shìchǎng chōngmǎn le huólì.

The bustling market was full of energy.

HSK 7-9

她叫熙，名字寓意光明美好。

Tā jiào Xī, míngzi yùyì guāngmíng měihǎo.

Her name is Xī, which signifies brightness and beauty.

Tips

usage

熙 is most commonly encountered in the reduplication 熙熙攘攘 (bustling, teeming with people) and as a given-name element implying brightness or prosperity. As a standalone character, it is a bound form.

Components

radical

灬 huǒ

fire (bottom radical form of 火)

Bottom four-dot fire radical - the side-form of 火 used when fire sits beneath a character. Indexes this char in the heat-and-light family with 热 (hot), 烈 (fierce), 然 (to burn), 煮 (to boil). Carries the 'bright, glowing' image: fire warming and brightening a wide hall, giving the meanings 'bright,' 'genial,' and 'flourishing.'

phonetic

巸 yí

broad; expansive (rare)

Top 巸 is a rare archaic character meaning 'broad, expansive,' built from 臣 (servant, eye) plus 巳 (foetus, sealed up). Supplies the phonetic frame: yí drifting to xī via well-attested initial shift. The sense of 'broad and open' lingers faintly under the 'bright, prosperous' meaning - a wide, sunlit expanse.