悬 (xuán) is a Chinese character meaning “to hang”. It is written from 县 (county) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to hang”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
县 + 心
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–7笔与「县」逐笔一致，第8–11笔与「心」逐笔一致）
Memory aid
A heart (心) left dangling under the county (县) above it. Both parts really are in this character: picture your heart hanging in mid-air beneath the county sign — suspended, unsettled. That is 悬: to hang, to be left in suspense.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 悬挂xuán guàto hang; to suspend (e.g. a flag, a picture)悬 = xuán
- 悬殊xuán shūwidely different; a huge gap (in strength, size, etc.)悬 = xuán
- 悬崖xuán yácliff; precipice悬 = xuán
Go deeper
All readings
to hang; suspended
to hang; to suspend; unresolved, in suspense; far apart; dangerous
挂在空中；没有着落、没有解决；相差很远；危险。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 悬挂xuán guàto hang; to suspend (e.g. a flag, a picture)悬 = xuán
- 悬殊xuán shūwidely different; a huge gap (in strength, size, etc.)悬 = xuán
- 悬崖xuán yácliff; precipice悬 = xuán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 悬 mean?
悬 (xuán) means to hang; to suspend; unresolved, in suspense; far apart; dangerous.
How do you pronounce 悬?
It is pronounced xuán.
What parts is 悬 made of?
县 (county) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–7笔与「县」逐笔一致，第8–11笔与「心」逐笔一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 悬 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 悬?
心. 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 悬?
Common ones are 悬挂 and 悬殊. The reading of 悬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.