县 (xiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “county”. It is written from 且 (moreover; for the time being) and 厶 (private component), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “county”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
且 + 厶
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形拆分：第 1–5 笔与「且」一致，第 6–7 笔与「厶」一致）
Memory aid
A stack of registers (且) with a small official seal (厶) stamped underneath — that is how a county keeps its records.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 县城xiàn chéngcounty town; county seat县 = xiàn
- 县长xiàn zhǎngcounty head; county magistrate县 = xiàn
Go deeper
All readings
county
county; a county-level administrative division of China
中国的一级行政区划，一般由市或自治州管辖。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 县城xiàn chéngcounty town; county seat县 = xiàn
- 县长xiàn zhǎngcounty head; county magistrate县 = xiàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 县 mean?
县 (xiàn) means county; a county-level administrative division of China.
How do you pronounce 县?
It is pronounced xiàn.
What parts is 县 made of?
且 (moreover; for the time being) and 厶 (private component), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形拆分：第 1–5 笔与「且」一致，第 6–7 笔与「厶」一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 县 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 县?
厶. 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 县?
Common ones are 县城 and 县长. The reading of 县 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.