咸

鹹

xián

口 + 戌

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

xián (adjective) salty

xián (adjective) all; everyone; each

xián (adjective) harmonious

Etymology

Depicts a massacre with a weapon (戌), based on the original meaning "massacre". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

The character 咸 originally combined 戌 (a weapon) and 口 to depict a massacre, its earliest meaning. It was later borrowed phonetically to serve as an adverb meaning 'all' or 'everyone.' In the modern era, this existing character was officially designated as the simplified form of the traditional 鹹, a phono-semantic compound with the salt radical 鹵 explicitly indicating salty taste. As a result, 咸 now primarily conveys saltiness in food or seawater, while its earlier adverbial use for totality survives in certain expressions.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这碗汤有点咸。

Zhè wǎn tāng yǒudiǎn xián.

This bowl of soup is a bit salty.

我不喜欢吃咸的食物。

Wǒ bù xǐhuān chī xián de shíwù.

I don't like to eat salty food.

早餐我吃了咸菜和粥。

Zǎocān wǒ chīle xiáncài hé zhōu.

For breakfast, I ate pickled vegetables and porridge.

这道菜比那道菜咸。

Zhè dào cài bǐ nà dào cài xián.

This dish is saltier than that dish.

咸水湖里有很多鱼。

Xiánshuǐ hú lǐ yǒu hěnduō yú.

There are many fish in the saltwater lake.

公司的员工咸支持这个决定。

Gōngsī de yuángōng xián zhīchí zhège juédìng.

All employees of the company support this decision.

如果你觉得菜太咸，可以加点糖。

Rúguǒ nǐ juédé cài tài xián, kěyǐ jiā diǎn táng.

If you think the dish is too salty, you can add some sugar.

由于厨师放多了盐，整锅汤都变得很咸。

Yóuyú chúshī fàng duōle yán, zhěng guō tāng dōu biàn dé hěn xián.

Because the chef put too much salt, the whole pot of soup became very salty.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 口

Component: 戌

咸