雄

xióng
adjective #8,044

Meanings

  1. 1 male
  2. 2 grand
  3. 3 powerful

Examples

HSK 5
Tā shì wǒmen xīnzhōng de yīngxióng.
He is a hero in our hearts.
HSK 7-9
Chángchéng fēicháng xióngwěi.
The Great Wall is truly magnificent.
HSK 7-9
Zhè zhī niǎo shì xióng de, nà zhī niǎo shì cí de.
This bird is male, and that one is female.

Tips

usage
厷 + 隹 (bird) - the dominant male bird.

Components

radical
隹 zhuī
short-tailed bird
Right-side bird radical - pictograph of a stout short-tailed bird with crest, wing and feet visible. The indexing radical here, supplying the meaning: 雄 originally named the male bird as opposed to 雌 the female. From the proud cock-bird image the meaning generalized to 'male, grand, heroic' for animals and people alike.
phonetic
厷 gōng
upper arm
Left side 厷 supplies the sound - gōng drifting to xióng through a g/x palatalization shift visible in 弘 wide, 雄, 宏 grand - the small phonetic family this character anchors. 厷 itself pictures the curved upper arm and elbow, an image of muscular strength that fits faintly with the grand and powerful sense of 雄.

Stroke Order

雄 xióng