贤 - xián - Chinese character definition, English meaning and stroke order

Ninchanese is the best way to learn Chinese.
Try it for free.

Sign me up

15 strokes
Traditional (switch to Simplified)

賢 (贤)

xián

Definition

worthy or virtuous person
honorific used for a person of the same or a younger generation

Character Decomposition

Related words (24)

賢人

xián rén

great person of the past; venerable forebear; the great and the good

diligent

virtuous person; a man of merit

賢妻

xián qī

(old) perfect wife; you, my beloved wife

賢弟

xián dì

worthy little brother

賢慧

xián huì

(of a wife) wise and kind; perfect in her traditional roles

賢才

xián cái

a genius; a talented person

賢明

xián míng

wise and capable; sagacious

賢淑

xián shū

(of a woman) virtuous

sage kings

sagacious prime minister (in feudal China)

sage

(of a man) able and virtuous

賢達

xián dá

prominent and worthy personage

賢內助

xián nèi zhù

(said of sb else's wife) a good wife

賢妻良母

xián qī liáng mǔ

a good wife and loving mother

先賢

xiān xián

worthy predecessor; distinguished person of the past; former sage

聖賢

shèng xián

a sage; wise and holy man; virtuous ruler; Buddhist lama; wine

holy book

to respect talent and make use of ability (Mencius)

尊賢愛物

zūn xián ài wù

to honor the wise and love the people; respecting noble talent while protecting the common people

respect for the wise

see a worthy, think to imitate (idiom, from Analects); emulate the virtuous; Follow the example of a virtuous and wise teacher.

識才尊賢

shí cái zūn xián

to recognize talent and have great respect for it

Idioms (11)

賢淑仁慈

xián shū rén cí

a virtuous and benevolent woman (idiom)

任人唯賢

rèn rén wéi xián

to appoint people according to their merits (idiom); appointment on the basis of ability and integrity

任賢使能

rèn xián shǐ néng

to appoint the virtuous and use the able (idiom); appointment on the basis of ability and integrity

聖經賢傳

shèng jīng xián zhuàn

(lit.) holy scripture and biography of sage (idiom); refers to Confucian canonical texts

妒能害賢

dù néng hài xián

jealous of the able, envious of the clever (idiom)

妒賢忌能

dù xián jì néng

to envy the virtuous and talented (idiom)

招賢納士

zhāo xián nà shì

invite the talented and call the valorous (idiom); to recruit talent

推賢讓能

tuī xián ràng néng

to cede to the virtuous and yield to the talented (idiom)

敬老尊賢

jìng lǎo zūn xián

to respect the wise and venerate the worthy (idiom); to honor the great and the good

敬賢禮士

jìng xián lǐ shì

to revere people of virtue and honor scholarship (idiom)

讓賢與能

ràng xián yǔ néng

to step aside and give a more worthy person a chance (idiom)

Oh noes!

An error occured, please reload the page.
Don't hesitate to report a feedback if you have internet!

You are disconnected!

We have not been able to load the page.
Please check your internet connection and retry.

Retry