xiāng
noun HSK 4 #2,123

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 box; trunk; chest; case

Examples

Qǐng bǎ xiāngzi fàngzài zhèlǐ.
Please put the box here.
Bīngxiāng lǐ yǒu hěnduō shíwù.
There is a lot of food in the refrigerator.

Tips

usage
appears in 箱子 (xiāngzi, box/suitcase), 冰箱 (bīngxiāng, refrigerator), 邮箱 (yóuxiāng, mailbox/email), 行李箱 (xínglǐxiāng, luggage/suitcase). The radical reflects ancient bamboo containers.

Components

radical
zhú
bamboo (top form)
⺮ is the bamboo-top radical, the cap-form of used when bamboo sits over another component. Indexes in the bamboo-craft family: containers and tools historically woven from bamboo strips. Same radical anchors brush, answer (bamboo slip), basket, chopsticks, flute. A box was originally a bamboo crate.
phonetic
xiāng
look at; mutual (here phonetic)
Bottom supplies the sound — xiāng, exact phonetic match. itself is a tree + eye picture (inspecting a tree's wood). 'Inspecting wood' faintly resonates with checking what's in a box, but the role is overwhelmingly phonetic. Same xiāng phonetic in think, wing-room, Hunan.

Stroke Order

xiāng