xióng
adjective #8,044

Meanings

  1. 1 male
  2. 2 grand
  3. 3 powerful

Examples

HSK 4
Yīngxióng
hero
HSK 5
Xióngwěi
grand; magnificent
HSK 7-9
Cíxióng
female and male

Tips

usage
+ (bird) - the dominant male bird.

Components

radical
zhuī
short-tailed bird
Right-side bird radical - pictograph of a stout short-tailed bird with crest, wing and feet visible. The indexing radical here, supplying the meaning: originally named the male bird as opposed to the female. From the proud cock-bird image the meaning generalized to 'male, grand, heroic' for animals and people alike.
phonetic
gōng
upper arm
Left side supplies the sound - gōng drifting to xióng through a g/x palatalization shift visible in wide, , grand - the small phonetic family this character anchors. itself pictures the curved upper arm and elbow, an image of muscular strength that fits faintly with the grand and powerful sense of .

Stroke Order

xióng