TongTong
Sign in

贤惠 (xián huì) — virtuous and wise (of a woman, in household management and personal character)

Definition

Traditional praise for a woman — virtuous and skilled at managing the household. Carries an old-fashioned, almost literary tone, so use it carefully and avoid it for men.

adjective
virtuous and wise (of a woman, in household management and personal character)

Examples

  • 贤惠。
    Dà jiā dōu hěn xiàn mù tā qǔ le yí gè nà me xián huì de qī zi.
    Everyone envies him for marrying such a virtuous wife.
  • ，贤惠。
    Suī rán tā gōng zuò hěn máng, dàn zài jiā yī rán fēi cháng xián huì.
    Even though she's very busy at work, she is still very virtuous at home.
  • ，贤惠。
    Zài zhōng guó chuán tǒng wén huà zhōng, xián huì yì zhí shì chēng zàn nǚ xìng de měi dé.
    In traditional Chinese culture, 'xiánhuì' has always been a virtue used to praise women.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

贤xiánvirtuous
惠huìkind

The virtue of 贤 and the kindness or wisdom of 惠 combine to describe a good woman.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賢; 贤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān賢xián
Same sound today

The traditional form 賢 pairs 貝 (money) with 臤 for sound to write 'worthy/valuable, like money'. The simplified 贤 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 贤 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

惠 combines 叀, which gives the sound, with 心 (heart).

Open 惠 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.