像 (xiàng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

像

xiàng[xiang4]Tone 4

to resemble, like, picture, image

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · to resemble, like, picture, image

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right phonetic component (象) takes up the majority of the right side with balanced horizontal lines and a strong sweeping bottom hook.

1. Meaning

to resemble or be like something/someone

appearance or portraitsuch asimage under a mapping in mathematics

verb / nounNeutral#comparison#appearance#art and representation

Sample Usage

他长得像他爸爸。
Tā zhǎng de xiàng tā bàba.
He looks like his father.
这朵花像真的一样。
Zhè duǒ huā xiàng zhēn de yíyàng.
This flower is just like a real one.

2. Sound

/[ɕi̯ɑŋ˥˩]/Tone: 51

像

xiàngxiang4

`(51)

=xiàng

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound pronounced closer to the teeth with the tongue spread out

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Front of the tongue raised close to the hard palate, teeth nearly closed.

Final Rhyme

iang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -iang rhymes with 'ee-ong' combined rapidly

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yahng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply to the bottom, mirroring an emphatic English exclamation like 'No!' or 'Down!'.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the palatal initial [ɕ] with the retroflex [ʂ] (sh). It is 'xiàng', not 'shàng'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp, authoritative downward motion, like nodding firmly to say 'No!' or chopping wood.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

4. Components

Radical 亻 · person radical (human or person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates that the resemblance or image relates to human likeness or representation)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 象 (original sound: xiàng)

A person (亻) standing next to or mirroring an elephant / image (象) creates a likeness or portrait of resemblance.

亻 person
象 elephant, shape, form, or image

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 象 (xiàng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed with the person radical (亻) added to 象 (xiàng - elephant/form), denoting how a person or thing takes on a shape, likeness, or image.

Semantic Evolution: From physical shape or statue of an elephant/creature, it generalized to mean 'resemble', 'look like', and abstract 'images' or 'photographs'.

The component 象 originally depicted an elephant with a trunk and tusks in oracle bone script.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

tượng

corresponds to the heavy falling/glottal tone in Vietnamese

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ショウ (shō) / Kun: かたど.る (katadoru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

상

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person (亻) looks at an ancient portrait of an elephant (象) and realizes they RESEMBLE each other in facial features!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

象

xiàngelephant, shape, imageBase phonetic component without the person radical.

橡

xiàngoak treeAdds the wood radical (木) for the tree that produces hard wood like elephant hide.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

项(xiàng)

Uses the page/head radical (页) instead of person (亻), meaning nape of neck or item/clause.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这张照片里的他真[___]他的哥哥。

Clue: xiàng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the fourth tone (xiàng) with second or third tones, or forgetting to write the person radical (亻) on the left.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 像, what does it mean and how do you pronounce it with its tone?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to resemble' or 'image', and what are its two main components?

像xiàngto resemble, like, picture, image

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