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斜 (xié) — (adjective) slanted, oblique, inclined, tilted; (verb) to slant, to tilt, to incline

Definition

斜 (xié) describes a line or surface that leans off the vertical or horizontal — neutral and physical, for roads, pictures, text. Compare 歪 (crooked/askew, often off-center or wrong) and 偏 (leaning off-line, or biased).

adjective
slantedobliqueinclinedtilted
verb
to slantto tiltto incline
Easily confused

Examples

  • 斜
    Zhè tiáo lù shì xié de
    This road is slanted.
  • 斜。
    Tā xié zhe yǎn jing kàn wǒ.
    He looked at me with slanted eyes (sidewise).
  • 斜。
    Tā bǎ huà guà xié le.
    He hung the picture crooked.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斗斗dòuladle/dipper
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú斜xié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

斜 pairs 斗, a ladle or dipper, with 余 for sound; the idea of scooping or drawing out was extended to mean a slant.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Shapes

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