象 xiàng elephant
elephant; figure; image
How it came to be
象形 · Pictogram
A drawing of the thing it means.
The oldest form is a drawing of an elephant, its trunk at the top.
How it is used
- Concretely the elephant: 大象 (dàxiàng); abstractly a figure/image.
- 印象 (yìnxiàng) impression, 现象 (xiànxiàng) phenomenon, 形象 (xíngxiàng) image/persona.
- 对象 (duìxiàng) is a false-friend trap: it usually means a boyfriend/girlfriend (找对象 zhǎo duìxiàng, look for a partner), or a "target/object" in formal writing.
Characters built with 象
Words with 象
- 印象yìnxiàngimpressionHSK 4
- 大象dàxiàngelephantHSK 5
- 对象duìxiàngtargetHSK 5
- 形象xíngxiàngimageHSK 5
- 想象xiǎngxiàngto imagineHSK 5
- 现象xiànxiàngphenomenonHSK 5
- 象征xiàngzhēngemblemHSK 5
- 抽象chōuxiàngabstractHSK 6
- 景象jǐngxiàngsceneHSK 6
- 象棋xiàngqíChinese chessHSK 6
- 气象qìxiàngmeteorological conditionHSK 7
- 包罗万象bāoluó-wànxiàngall-embracingHSK 8
- 迹象jìxiàngsignHSK 9
Example sentences
- 我对他印象很深。 Wǒ duì tā yìnxiàng hěn shēn.He left a deep impression on me.
- 她在给大象洗澡。 Tā zài gěi dàxiàng xǐzǎo.He's giving the elephant a bath.