DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

弦

Mandarin · pinyin xián

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

弦: xián · string; hypotenuse, crescent

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2 · xian2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link42same-tone records1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

弦 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 · jyun4

Cantonese word readings for 弦. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

string; bowstring
crescent
spring of a clock
(music) string on a musical instrument
(music) stringed instruments or music played by stringed instruments
(mathematics) chord
(geometry) hypotenuse
(figurative) wife
a surname

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack