xiān
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 shovel
  2. 2 spade

Examples

HSK 5
Qǐng bǎ nà bǎ xiān dìgěi wǒ.
Please pass me that shovel.
HSK 6
Tā ná zhe xiān zài tiánlǐ gànhuó.
He worked in the field holding a shovel.

Tips

memory
Has the metal radical , typical for tools made of metal. Often interchangeable in everyday use with 铁锹 or 铲子, though specifically refers to a flat-bladed shovel for moving loose material.

Components

radical
jīn
metal (radical form of 金)
Left-side metal radical, the side form of . Indexes in the metalwork family alongside steel, iron, pot. A shovel is a wide iron blade on a handle; the radical names the working part: the metal that bites the earth.
phonetic
xīn
delight; joy
Right side supplies the sound: xīn shifted to xiān, a small vowel-finals change. The graph shows a person yawning open-mouthed in pleasure, but that imagery doesn't carry over here; it's borrowed purely for the sound. Same phonetic core (axe) appears in near and to listen.

Stroke Order

xiān