• 188th most frequent character
  • Adds ~0.11% to your reading coverage
  • 1 dictionary entry
  • Appears in 133 words
  • Component in 11 characters

Decomposition

1Once
2Radical
3Graphical
丿

Pinyin & Meaning

1. xiān (xian1)early • prior • former • in advance • first

Pronunciation Clues

There are no phonetic clues for this character.

Appears In

also appears in:

Example Words

Common

先生 
首先 

Uncommon

事先 
优先 (優先)
先前 
先天 
先后 (先後)
先机 (先機)
先知 
先行 
先进 (先進)
先锋 (先鋒)
原先 
抢先 (搶先)
率先 
祖先 
预先 (預先)
领先 (領先)

RareShow 115

#Back to top
  • 2458th most frequent character
  • Adds <0.01% to your reading coverage
  • 1 dictionary entry
  • Appears in 11 words
  • Component in 7 characters

Decomposition

1Once
2Radical
3Graphical
丿

Pinyin & Meaning

1. zhǎn (zhan3)to behead (as form of capital punishment) • to chop

Pronunciation Clues

There are no phonetic clues for this character.

Appears In

also appears in:

Example Words

Common

斩断 (斬斷)

Uncommon

先斩后奏 (先斬後奏)
快刀斩乱麻 (快刀斬亂麻)
斩杀 (斬殺)
斩草除根 (斬草除根)
斩钉截铁 (斬釘截鐵)
斩首 (斬首)

RareShow 4

#Back to top
  • 48th most frequent character
  • Adds ~0.29% to your reading coverage
  • 3 dictionary entries
  • Appears in 321 words
  • Component in 6 characters

Decomposition

1Once
3Graphical
丿

Pinyin & Meaning

1. hòu (Hou4)surname Hou
2. hòu (hou4)empress • queen
3. hòu (hou4)back • behind • rear • afterwards • after • later

Pronunciation Clues

1. Pronunciation clue for hòu (hou4)The component is pronounced as 'kǒu' (kou3). It has the same pinyin final.

Appears In

also appears in:

Example Words

Common

之后 (之後)
今后 (今後)
以后 (以後)
后来 (後來)
后悔 (後悔)
后面 (後面)
最后 (最後)
然后 (然後)

Uncommon

事后 (事後)
先后 (先後)
前后 (前後)
午后 (午後)
天后 
幕后 (幕後)
往后 (往後)
后世 (後世)
后人 (後人)
后代 (後代)
后台 (後台)
后天 (後天)
后宫 (後宮)
后年 (後年)
后期 (後期)
后果 (後果)
后续 (後續)
后者 (後者)
后卫 (後衛)
后退 (後退)
后遗症 (後遺症)
后边 (後邊)
后门 (後門)
日后 (日後)
此后 (此後)
死而后已 (死而後已)
皇后 
稍后 (稍後)
背后 (背後)
落后 (落後)
观后感 (觀後感)
身后 (身後)
过后 (過後)
酒后 (酒後)
随后 (隨後)

RareShow 278

#Back to top
  • 1541st most frequent character
  • Adds <0.01% to your reading coverage
  • 1 dictionary entry
  • Appears in 37 words
  • Component in 0 characters

Decomposition

1Once
3Graphical

Pinyin & Meaning

1. zòu (zou4)to play music • to achieve • to present a memorial to the emperor (old)

Pronunciation Clues

There are no phonetic clues for this character.

Example Words

Common

演奏 
节奏 (節奏)

Uncommon

二重奏 
伴奏 
前奏 
协奏曲 (協奏曲)
合奏 
奏效 
奏鸣曲 (奏鳴曲)
弹奏 (彈奏)
独奏 (獨奏)

RareShow 26

Decomposition Levels:
Level 1 - Once: Only divided once. So only two components.
Level 2 - Radical: Radical Decomposition. The character gets decomposed into its lowest radical components. For the complete list visit the Radical wikipedia page.
Level 3 - Graphical: Graphical Decomposition. Shows all the strokes & lowest level of components that make up the character.
If you see questions marks or too many "block" characters, especially when it comes to level 3 decomposition you might need the correct font.