Word

乡下 (xiāng xià) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 乡下

名 míng noun

countryside

我爷爷住在乡下。

wǒ yé ye zhù zài xiāng xià

My grandfather lives in the countryside.

Word breakdown

乡 xiāng — village, rural area

1 家乡 jiā xiāng — hometown HSK 4
- 家 home, family - represents the personal connection and sense of belonging
- 乡 countryside, native place - represents the geographical locality or region of origin
Example

我很想念我的家乡。

wǒ hěn xiǎng niàn wǒ de jiā xiāng

I miss my hometown very much.
2 乡村 xiāng cūn — countryside HSK 5
- 乡 rural, countryside
- 村 village
Example

他离开城市回到了乡村。

tā lí kāi chéng shì huí dào le xiāng cūn

He left the city and returned to the countryside.
3 故乡 gù xiāng — hometown HSK 5
- 故 former, old, original
- 乡 village, hometown, native place
Example

我很想念我的故乡。

wǒ hěn xiǎng niàn wǒ de gù xiāng

I miss my hometown very much.
4 乡亲 xiāng qīn — fellow villager HSK 7
- 乡 hometown, native village
- 亲 close person, relative
Example

他见到乡亲们都很高兴。

tā jiàn dào xiāng qīn men dōu hěn gāo xìng

He was very happy to see his fellow villagers.
5 老乡 lǎo xiāng — fellow townsman HSK 7
- 老 familiar/affectionate prefix
- 乡 hometown/native place
Example

听到有人说家乡话，原来是老乡啊！

tīng dào yǒu rén shuō jiā xiāng huà yuán lái shì lǎo xiāng a

Hearing someone speak the hometown dialect, it turns out they're a fellow townsman!

下 xià — place, area (indicating location)

Structure & writing

1 乡 xiāng — village; rural area (opposite of city)

乡 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

1.1 幺 yāo — the number one; smallest unit

幺 is a component in 6 characters

HSK 4

乡 xiāng village; rural area (opposite of city) 幽 yōu (lit.) deep and secluded; (of a place) remote, quiet, and dimly lit

HSK 5

幼 yòu young; immature (opposite of 老)

HSK 7

兹 zī (lit., class.) demonstrative pronoun: this; this one 奚 xī slave (in ancient times) 玄 xuán black; dark-colored

Stroke order

2 下 xià — lower position (opposite of 上): ① positioned below (opposite of 上); ② later in order or time; ③ within a certain range, condition, or circumstance

下 is a component in 2 characters

HSK 6

吓 xià to frighten; to scare

HSK 7

虾 xiā shrimp; prawn (aquatic arthropod with segmented body and thin transparent shell)

consists of

2.1 一 yī — the smallest positive integer; one (①used before a measure word ②used before a noun ③indicates a single action or a brief/tentative action)

一 is a component in 58 characters

HSK 1