象 (xiàng) is a Chinese character meaning “elephant”. It is written from ⺈ (claw-top form; the flattened top of 刀 seen in 争, 色, 龟) and 𧰨 (lower part of 象: a box 口 overlapped with a 豕-like body and legs), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “elephant; image”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
⺈ + 𧰨
Top–bottom structure
- ⺈ claw-top form; the flattened top of 刀 seen in 争, 色, 龟 picture
- 𧰨 lower part of 象: a box 口 overlapped with a 豕-like body and legs picture
Structure from: 说文解字: 象，長鼻牙，南越大獸…象耳牙四足之形; IDS ⿱⺈𧰨 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only), checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke groups
Memory aid
The small top ⺈ is the tip of a raised trunk; below it, 𧰨 is a heavy body standing on many legs. Picture an elephant lifting its trunk — an image that is hard to forget.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 大象dà xiàngelephant象 = xiàng
- 印象yìn xiàngimpression象 = xiàng
- 现象xiàn xiàngphenomenon象 = xiàng
- 卦象guà xiàngthe figure of a trigram or hexagram; the sign read in divination象 = xiàng
- 象棋xiàng qíChinese chess (xiangqi)象 = xiàng
Go deeper
All readings
elephant; image
elephant; appearance, shape, image; phenomenon
大象，一种长鼻子的大型哺乳动物；也指形状、样子、现象。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大象dà xiàngelephant象 = xiàng
- 印象yìn xiàngimpression象 = xiàng
- 现象xiàn xiàngphenomenon象 = xiàng
- 卦象guà xiàngthe figure of a trigram or hexagram; the sign read in divination象 = xiàng
- 象棋xiàng qíChinese chess (xiangqi)象 = xiàng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 象 mean?
象 (xiàng) means elephant; appearance, shape, image; phenomenon.
How do you pronounce 象?
It is pronounced xiàng.
What parts is 象 made of?
⺈ (claw-top form; the flattened top of 刀 seen in 争, 色, 龟) and 𧰨 (lower part of 象: a box 口 overlapped with a 豕-like body and legs), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 象，長鼻牙，南越大獸…象耳牙四足之形; IDS ⿱⺈𧰨 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only), checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke groups. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 象 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 象?
豕. 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 象?
Common ones are 大象, 印象, 现象. The reading of 象 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.