邢 (Xíng) · surname Xing

Meanings

1 surname Xing
2 Xingtai (ancient place name in Hebei Province)

Characters

邢

Xíng

surname Xing; ancient place name

Examples

HSK 5

邢台市位于河北省南部。

Xíngtái shì wèiyú Héběi shěng nánbù.

Xingtai City is located in the southern part of Hebei Province.

HSK 7-9

邢是一个比较少见的中国姓氏。

Xíng shì yí gè bǐjiào shǎojiàn de Zhōngguó xìngshì.

Xing is a relatively rare Chinese surname.

Tips

memory

邢 contains the 邑 (city/region) radical on the right side (written as 阝), indicating its connection to a place name.

Components

radical

阝 yì

city; settlement (right-side form of 邑)

Right ear radical - the side-form of 邑, marking a town. Always on the right edge it means "city" (邦, 邻, 那), distinct from the visually identical left-side 阝 from 阜 (mound). Indexes 邢 as a place name: ancient Xing state, modern Xingtai in Hebei, and a surname.

phonetic

开 kāi

open; begin

Left side 开 supplies the sound through a drift: kāi → xíng. The traditional form 邢 uses 幵, which fits the sound better; the simplified merge of 幵 into 开 obscured the phonetic relationship. Same drift happens in 形 shape and 型 model, both also xíng with 开-like phonetics.