斜 xié slanting
slanting; sloping; inclined; tilting
How to remember 斜: 余 surplus + 斗 fight = slanting. The farmer stacks his surplus hay against the barn, but the kids fight on top until the whole pile ends up slanting.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
斜 = 余 surplus + 斗 fight
- 余 surplus sound
- 斗 fight meaning
The farmer stacks his surplus hay against the barn, but the kids fight on top until the whole pile ends up slanting.
How it came to be
The ladle on the right gives the meaning and the left part gives the sound; the word first meant scooping out, and from that came slanting.
How it is used
- Adjective describing something tilted or diagonal: 斜线 xiéxiàn "diagonal line."
- 斜对面 xiéduìmiàn "diagonally across from" is very common when giving directions, e.g. pointing out a shop across and down the street.
- 倾斜 qīngxié "to tilt/incline" extends to abstract bias too: 倾斜的政策 "a policy that favors one side."