xiè
verb #56,443

Meanings

  1. 1 to harmonize
  2. 2 to blend
  3. 3 to bring into accord

Examples

HSK 5
Liǎng fāng xūyào yǒurén cóngzhōng xiè hé tiáojiě.
The two sides need someone to harmonize and reconcile them.
HSK 7-9
Gǔyǔ chēng xiánxiàng néng xiè lǐ yīnyáng.
An old phrase praising a minister speaks of harmonizing yin and yang.

Tips

usage
Almost entirely literary. You will mostly meet in the set phrase 燮理阴阳 (to harmonize yin and yang), classically used to praise a prime minister's statecraft. It also survives as a given name.
memory
Picture two fires () with speech () between them, calmed and brought into balance by a hand (). Words smoothing out heat into harmony.

Components

radical
yòu
hand
A hand at the base, the acting agent. It does the work of adjusting and harmonizing what sits above it.
semantic
huǒ
fire
Upper-left fire. Paired with the second it frames the idea of two heat sources that must be balanced and brought into accord.
semantic
yán
speech; words
Speech sits between the two fires, carrying the sense of using words to mediate and tune opposing forces into harmony.
semantic
huǒ
fire
Upper-right fire, mirroring the first. The doubled flame underlines the two competing elements the character resolves.

Stroke Order

xiè