像

像 · xiàng

a picture, image, figure; to resemble

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

a picture, image, figure; to resemble

Mandarin
xiàng
Cantonese
zoeng6

Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 像 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.

Japanese 日本語

Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.

On’yomi · katakana

ゾウショウヨウ

Kun’yomi · hiragana

かたちかたどる

Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property

ゾウ ショウ ヨウ かたち かたどる

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

상

Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.

Reading sources explained
상
KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

상:0E

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

tượng

Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kVietnamese ↗ · provisional property

tượng

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+50CF
Radical
人 · 9
Strokes
13 · Unihan
Residual
12

Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.

Stroke order

13 strokes
像
Strokes
13
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

13 strokes in writing order. Play to watch them, or Step through one at a time.

Modern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.

Graphical structure

⿰亻象(GHTJKPV)
How to read these symbols

⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.

BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.

Words & connections

Words using 像

Character connections

No reverse component match in this collection.

Component roles · attributed

Source analyses, kept separate from modern IDS. CJKVI labels are not individually verified historical conclusions. Evidence & limits ↗

Sentence context · 1 matches

我昨天买了一支像你那样的笔。

I bought a pen like yours yesterday.
Source, contributors & licenses

Mandarin: Tatoeba #401958 · Original contributor: FeuDRenais · CC BY 2.0 FR · Attribution log · Current owner: GlossaMatik
English: Tatoeba #401955 · Original contributor: FeuDRenais · CC BY 2.0 FR · Attribution log · Current owner: CM

Source text unchanged. Original contributor and text editors are credited from the source log, separately from the current owner.

Sentence entry · words & provenance ↗
Written-form matches; sense and pronunciation are not automatically aligned. Corpus & selection ↗

History & distinctions

Related forms

No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.

Historical readings

Middle Chinese
zjangX · 徐兩 反切 · #1801

Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 11570 · zjangX = 宕開三上陽邪

Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗

Sources & reference

Evidence & next depth

Source editions & exact scope ↗
Retained Unihan properties
kMandarin
xiàng
kCantonese
zoeng6
kDefinition
a picture, image, figure; to resemble
kTotalStrokes
13
kRSUnicode
9.12
kGradeLevel
1
kTGH
2013:2961

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
xiàng 10213.030
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
xiàng 1261.011,1262.010
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Explore 1 example using 像 ↗

Exact source-spelling matches. Open the reader for dictionary lookups, construction notes and related examples. Occurrence does not establish a particular dictionary sense.

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
100dictionary records using 像0forms using this shape1attributed sound links
⿰ Left / right

Shape description
亻 beside 象 · the same shape in all seven regional standards (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam)
Source notation ^⿰亻象$(GHTJKPV)
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 100 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿰亻象$(GHTJKPV)

All alternatives are retained. Only the first description drives component search and graphical links. Counts describe this snapshot, not frequency. Evidence and method.