鲜

鱻
xiān
#956 most
frequent character
fresh, bright, delicious, little
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

鲜 has fish 鱼 as the picture part and 羊 yáng marking the sound. It first meant a type of fish. Read xiān, it grew to fresh, tasty, and bright in color. Read xiǎn, it was borrowed for 'rare, few'.

鲜 as a component in other characters

sound2 characters
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Example Sentences

这个水果很鲜。
zhègè shuǐguǒ hěn xiān 。
This fruit is very fresh.
今天的鱼非常鲜。
jīntiān de yú fēicháng xiān 。
The fish today is very delicious.
这道菜的味道很鲜美。
zhè dào cài de wèidào hěn xiānměi 。
The flavor of this dish is very rich.

Same Characters, Different Readings

鲜xiǎn
variant of 鮮|鲜[xian3]
鲜xiǎn
variant of 尟|鲜[xian3]
鲜xiān
fresh, bright, delicious, little
鲜xiǎn
few, rare
鲜xiǎn
old variant of 鮮|鲜[xian3]

Words with similar meanings

新鲜xīnxiān
fresh
More commonly used to describe food that is newly harvested or recently prepared.
美味měiwèi
delicious
Focuses specifically on the taste aspect, often implying that something is very pleasing to eat.
鲜美xiānměi
delicious
Used to emphasize the exquisite taste, often found in higher quality dishes.

Homophones

HSK 3
先xiān
early, prior, former, in advance
鲜xiān
fresh, bright, delicious, little
仙xiān
immortal

Words Starting With 鲜

鲜艳xiān yàn
bright-colored; gaily-colored
鲜明xiān míng
bright; clear-cut; distinct

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