馅

餡
xiàn
noun HSK 7-9 #14,631

Meanings

  1. 1 filling
  2. 2 stuffing (for dumplings, pies, buns, etc.)

Examples

HSK 1
Zhège jiǎozi shì shénme xiàn de?
What filling are these dumplings?
HSK 5
Wǒ xǐhuan zhūròu báicài xiàn.
I like pork and cabbage filling.

Tips

culture
Asking 什么馅的? is essential when buying dumplings (饺子), baozi (包子), or mooncakes (月饼) in China. Common fillings: 猪肉 (pork), 牛肉 (beef), 韭菜 (chives), 豆沙 (red bean paste).

Components

radical
饣 shí
food (radical form of 食)
Left-side food radical, simplified three-stroke form of 食 (a covered bowl of grain). The indexing radical: 馅 is the filling stuffed inside dumplings, buns, mooncakes - the centre that makes 饺子 and 包子 into actual dishes. Same food-family: 饭 cooked rice, 饺 dumpling, 饼 flatbread, 饱 full, 饿 hungry, 饮 to drink.
phonetic
臽 xiàn
pit; trap
Right side 臽 supplies the sound exactly: xiàn to xiàn, identical pinyin and tone. 臽 itself pictures a person 人 falling into a pit 臼 - 'pitfall, sunken hollow.' A perfect visual mnemonic for 馅: food filling the hollow inside a wrapper. Same phonetic family: 陷 to sink-into, 焰 flame (sunken bowl), 谄 to flatter.

Stroke Order

馅 xiàn