xiàn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 a small but steep hill (chiefly in place names)

Examples

Húběi Xiāngyáng de Xiàn shān shì yǒumíng de gǔjì.
Mount Xian in Xiangyang, Hubei, is a famous historical site.
Cūn hòu yǒu yí zuò xiǎo xiàn.
Behind the village rose a small steep hill.

Tips

history
Best known in near 襄阳, linked to the Jin general . Locals wept at a memorial stone there for his good governance, giving rise to the literary image of the 'tear-drawing stele'.

Components

radical
shān
mountain; hill
The mountain radical on the left. It marks as a kind of hill, here a small but steep one used in place names.
phonetic
jiàn
to see; to meet
Supplies the sound. Standalone is jiàn, shifted to xiàn here. It contributes pronunciation, not meaning, to the word.

Stroke Order

xiàn