狭 (xiá) is a Chinese character meaning “narrow”. It is written from 犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “narrow, too tight to pass”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
犭 + 夹
Left–right structure
- 犭 dog / beast radical (side form of 犬) · quǎn meaning
- 夹 to clamp; to press something between · jiā sound
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：犭 3 画 + 夹 6 画 = 9 画）
Memory aid
The beast radical (犭) squeezed up against 夹 "to clamp" — an animal wedged into a space too tight to turn around. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 狭窄xiá zhǎinarrow; cramped狭 = xiá
- 狭小xiá xiǎosmall and cramped; confined狭 = xiá
Go deeper
All readings
narrow
narrow; cramped; not wide; limited in extent
宽度小；范围小，不宽阔。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 狭窄xiá zhǎinarrow; cramped狭 = xiá
- 狭小xiá xiǎosmall and cramped; confined狭 = xiá
Sound component
夹 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 狭 mean?
狭 (xiá) means narrow; cramped; not wide; limited in extent.
How do you pronounce 狭?
It is pronounced xiá.
What parts is 狭 made of?
犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：犭 3 画 + 夹 6 画 = 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 狭 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 狭?
犬. 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 狭?
Common ones are 狭窄 and 狭小. The reading of 狭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.