Definitions

xiāng (noun) countryside; rural area
xiāng (noun) hometown; native place
xiāng (noun) township

Etymology

Simplified form of . Pictograph of two people facing each other, kneeling down to share a meal. Based on the original meaning "feast" or "offer food", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "hometown". The right two components were removed for simplification.

About

The traditional character 鄉 originated as an ideogram depicting two people sharing a meal from a central vessel, symbolizing community and closeness. The simplified form 乡 retains only the left portion of this older structure. Its core meaning refers to the countryside, rural areas, or one's native village, evoking a local community, shared origins, and an administrative unit smaller than a town, often contrasted with urban life.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的家在农村。

Wǒ de jiāxiāng zài nóngcūn.

My hometown is in the countryside.

村的空气很新鲜。

Xiāngcūn de kōngqì hěn xīnxiān.

The air in the countryside is very fresh.

我喜欢回下去。

Wǒ xǐhuān huí xiāngxià qù.

I like to go back to the countryside.

的风景让我怀念。

Gùxiāng de fēngjǐng ràng wǒ huáiniàn.

The scenery of my hometown makes me nostalgic.

每年春节我们都回

Měi nián chūnjié wǒmen dōu huí xiāng.

Every Spring Festival, we return to our hometown.

村生活比城市生活宁静。

Xiāngcūn shēnghuó bǐ chéngshì shēnghuó níngjìng.

Countryside life is more peaceful than city life.

虽然我住在城市,但心系故

Suīrán wǒ zhù zài chéngshì, dàn xīn xì gùxiāng.

Although I live in the city, my heart is tied to my hometown.

对于海外游子,思之情难以言表。

Duìyú hǎiwài yóuzǐ, sīxiāng zhī qíng nányǐ yánbiǎo.

For overseas wanderers, the feeling of homesickness is hard to express.