横

橫

héng, hèng

木 + 黄

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

héng (adjective) horizontal; across; crosswise

héng (verb) to place flat; to cross

héng (adjective) chaotic; in disorder

hèng (adjective) harsh; unreasonable

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 黄 represents the sound. Simplified form of 橫.

Semantic: 木 Phonetic: 黄

About

横 is a phono-semantic compound combining the radical 木 (wood) on the left with the phonetic component 黄 (huáng) on the right; it is the simplified form of 橫. Originally, it referred to a wooden crossbar or horizontal beam placed as a barrier, gate, or yoke. Because such a bar lies crosswise, the meaning extended to anything horizontal, transverse, or intersecting. Pronounced with a different tone (hèng), the character describes an attitude that goes against the grain, perverse, harsh, or unreasonable.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这条河很宽。

Zhè tiáo hé hěn kuān.

This river is very wide.

请横向移动这个箱子。

Qǐng héngxiàng yídòng zhège xiāngzi.

Please move this box horizontally.

不要横穿马路，很危险。

Bùyào héngchuān mǎlù, hěn wěixiǎn.

Don't cross the road recklessly; it's very dangerous.

螃蟹是横着走路的动物。

Pángxiè shì héngzhe zǒulù de dòngwù.

Crabs are animals that walk sideways.

那座新建的大桥横跨大江两岸。

Nà zuò xīnjiàn de dàqiáo héngkuà dàjiāng liǎng'àn.

That newly built bridge spans both banks of the great river.

事情本来很顺利，谁知又横生枝节。

Shìqíng běnlái hěn shùnlì, shéi zhī yòu héngshēngzhījié.

Things were going smoothly, but unexpectedly, complications arose.

他对别人的工作总是横加指责。

Tā duì biérén de gōngzuò zǒng shì héngjiā zhǐzé.

He always unreasonably criticizes other people's work.

在历史的洪流中，个人命运往往显得横逆莫测。

Zài lìshǐ de hóngliú zhōng, gèrén mìngyùn wǎngwǎng xiǎnde héngnì mòcè.

In the torrent of history, an individual's fate often appears unpredictably adverse and unfathomable.

Related Characters

Component: 木

Component: 黄

横