HSK Guide

Radical 186fragrant, aromatic; incense

xiāng (first tone, high and level)

fragrant, aromatic; incense

Radical 1869 strokes0 characters

Where the shape comes from

Ripening grain 禾 shown above a sweetness or a sun, the smell of grain cooking or ripening in the warmth standing in for fragrance of every kind. It names scent directly in 香水, perfume, and gives its name, unrelated to any grain, to 香港, Hong Kong, the fragrant harbour, and to 香蕉, a banana, a fruit that simply happens to share the word for sweet-smelling.

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