翔

xiáng
verb #15,684

Meanings

  1. 1 to soar
  2. 2 to glide
  3. 3 shit; poop

Examples

HSK 1
Tā de míngzi lǐ yǒu yī gè xiáng zì.
His name contains the character 翔.
HSK 7-9
Xióngyīng zài tiānkōng zhōng áoxiáng.
The eagle soars in the sky.

Tips

culture
翔 is a popular character in Chinese given names, meaning 'to soar.' However, internet slang has given it the meaning 'poop/shit,' making it an unfortunate name choice for younger generations.

Components

radical
羽 yǔ
feather; wing
Right feather radical - pictograph of two outstretched wings with feather barbs, doubled. The indexing radical, marking 翔 as a flight word. Specifically 'to soar' - wings held flat, gliding without flapping (compared to 飞 which is active flying). Same radical groups 翔 with 翅 (wing), 翼 (wing-feather), 翰 (writing brush - from goose quill).
phonetic
羊 yáng
sheep; goat
Left 羊 supplies the sound - yáng shifting to xiáng through a regular y/x palatal alternation. 羊 itself depicts a sheep's head with curled horns. Same phonetic feeds 详 (detailed), 祥 (auspicious), 洋 (ocean), 样 (sample) - all in the yáng/xiáng family. Purely sound-bearing here.

Stroke Order

翔 xiáng