Definition
乡 (xiāng) has three related senses: 'hometown' (often in fixed phrases like 回乡), 'countryside/rural area', and 'township' as an administrative unit. For 'hometown', 家乡 (HSK4) is the everyday word while 乡 is more literary; for 'countryside', 农村 (HSK4) is the common term, with 乡 being slightly broader.
noun
hometownnative villagecountrysiderural areatownship (PRC administrative unit)
Easily confused
- 想xiǎngsound-aliketo want to; would like to
- 像xiàngsound-aliketo resemble, to be like
- 向xiàngsound-alike(preposition) towards; to (indicating direction, goal, or recipient of an action)
- 项xiàngsound-alike(classifier) used for items, tasks, clauses, research projects, and other abstract entities
- 响xiǎngsound-alike(verb) to sound, to ring, to make a sound
- 香xiāngsound-alikefragrant, aromatic
- 巷xiàngsound-alikelane, alley
- 享xiǎngsound-aliketo enjoy, to benefit from
- 镶xiāngsound-aliketo inlay, to embed, to set (a gem or tooth)
Examples
- 。Wǒ měinián guònián dōu huí xiāng.I return to my hometown every year for the Spring Festival.
- 。Chéngshì hé xiāng cūn de shēnghuó hěn bù yíyàng.Life in the city and the countryside is very different.
- 乡。Zhège xiāng yǒu wǔ gè cūnzi.This township has five villages.
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