舷 (xián) · the side of a ship; gunwale

Meanings

1 the side of a ship; gunwale
2 board (of a vessel or aircraft)

Characters

舷

xián

side of a ship

Examples

HSK 3

他站在船舷边看海。

Tā zhàn zài chuánxián biān kàn hǎi.

He stood by the side of the ship watching the sea.

HSK 6

左舷发现了一艘小船。

Zuǒxián fāxiàn le yī sōu xiǎochuán.

A small boat was spotted on the port side.

Tips

memory

The boat radical 舟 on the left tells you it's nautical, and 玄 gives the sound - the side of a boat.

Components

radical

舟 zhōu

boat

Boat radical on the left, the indexing radical. It pictures a small dugout vessel and files 舷 alongside 船 ship, 航 sail, 舵 rudder. The character names the side or rail of that vessel - gunwale, ship's side - and the radical points straight at the object.

phonetic

玄 xuán

deep; mysterious (here phonetic)

Right side 玄 supplies the sound - xuán shifted to xián in 舷's reading. The 'mysterious; profound' meaning isn't loaded here; treat it as the phonetic. Same xuán/xián cluster shows up in 弦 bowstring and 眩 dizzy.