侠 (xiá) is a Chinese character meaning “a chivalrous person”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “chivalrous hero”
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Structure
亻 + 夹
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 夹 to clamp; to press something between · jiā unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+4FA0 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验：侠 8 笔中第 1、2 笔与「亻」两笔逐笔对应，第 3-8 笔与「夹」六笔逐笔对应
Memory aid
A person (亻) who steps in and clamps down (夹) on a bully — that is a 侠, the hero who fights for the weak.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 武侠wǔ xiámartial-arts chivalry (the genre of fiction and film about wandering heroes)侠 = xiá
- 侠义xiá yìchivalrous; ready to help the weak out of a sense of justice侠 = xiá
Go deeper
All readings
chivalrous hero
a chivalrous person; a knight-errant who uses their skill to help the weak; chivalrous
旧时指有武艺、讲义气、肯帮助弱小的人；也指这种品格。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 武侠wǔ xiámartial-arts chivalry (the genre of fiction and film about wandering heroes)侠 = xiá
- 侠义xiá yìchivalrous; ready to help the weak out of a sense of justice侠 = xiá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 侠 mean?
侠 (xiá) means a chivalrous person; a knight-errant who uses their skill to help the weak; chivalrous.
How do you pronounce 侠?
It is pronounced xiá.
What parts is 侠 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4FA0 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验：侠 8 笔中第 1、2 笔与「亻」两笔逐笔对应，第 3-8 笔与「夹」六笔逐笔对应. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 侠 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 侠?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 侠?
Common ones are 武侠 and 侠义. The reading of 侠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.