TongTong
Sign in

熊 (xióng) — bear

Definition

The basic noun meaning 'bear' (the animal). As a colloquial adjective it also means 'weak, incapable' — stronger and more dismissive than 无能.

noun
bear
Measure word · 只
Easily confused

Examples

  • 熊。
    Shān lǐ yǒu yì zhī xióng.
    There is a bear in the mountains.
  • 熊。
    xióng De lì qi hěn dà.
    Bears are very strong.
  • 熊。
    Hái zi men dōu hài pà xióng.
    Children are all afraid of bears.

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
能能néngbear
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán熊xióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

熊 is made of 能 and 炎. It originally represented a word for raging flame; when 能 was borrowed for another word, 熊 came to write 'bear'.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Animals & Mammals2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.