咸 (xián) is a Chinese character meaning “salty”. It is written from 戌 (the 11th Earthly Branch; the halberd frame 戊 with one flat stroke inside) and 口 (mouth), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “salty”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
戌 + 口
Overlapping structure
- 戌 the 11th Earthly Branch; the halberd frame 戊 with one flat stroke inside · xū remnant
- 口 mouth · kǒu meaning
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0/1/2/6/7/8 = 戌，3/4/5 = 口）
Memory aid
A mouth 口 is sealed inside the halberd frame 戌. Only the mouth can report what this frame is guarding: salt.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 咸味xián wèisalty taste; saltiness咸 = xián
- 咸水xián shuǐsalt water; salty water咸 = xián
Go deeper
All readings
salty
salty; salted; tasting of salt
含盐分多的；有盐的味道。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 咸味xián wèisalty taste; saltiness咸 = xián
- 咸水xián shuǐsalt water; salty water咸 = xián
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 咸 mean?
咸 (xián) means salty; salted; tasting of salt.
How do you pronounce 咸?
It is pronounced xián.
What parts is 咸 made of?
戌 (the 11th Earthly Branch; the halberd frame 戊 with one flat stroke inside) and 口 (mouth). The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0/1/2/6/7/8 = 戌，3/4/5 = 口）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 咸 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 咸?
口. 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 咸?
Common ones are 咸味 and 咸水. The reading of 咸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.