咸
鹹xián
HSK 4
#2,520 most
frequent character
salty
adjective
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
咸 has 戌, a battle axe, as its picture part; 口 was added as a distinguishing mark. Together they first meant 'to slaughter people with an axe'. Later the word was borrowed for its sound to mean 'salt; salty', and again for 'all; every'.
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Example Sentences
这道菜有点咸。
zhè dào cài yǒudiǎn xián 。
This dish is a little salty.
我不喜欢吃太咸的食物。
wǒbù xǐhuān chī tài xián de shíwù 。
I don’t like to eat food that is too salty.
海水非常咸。
hǎishuǐ fēicháng xián 。
Seawater is very salty.
Words with similar meanings
Homophones
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