辛 (xīn) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

xīn bitter; toilsome, laborious; 8th heavenly stem 7 strokes · Radical 辛 (bitter) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 辛 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced xīn.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
辛 — 7 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

辛 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Top + Bottom. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

辛 =
立 top to stand
十 bottom ten

Radical

The radical of 辛 is 辛 — meaning bitter. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 辣.

How the character is built

辛 is a pictograph — a stylized image of the thing it names. It originally depicted A hot iron used to brand prisoners and slaves.

HSK 4 Words Containing 辛

辛苦 xīnkǔ hard; tiring; laborious
老师,您辛苦了!
Lǎoshī, nín xīnkǔ le!
Teacher, you've worked hard!

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

辛 appears in 31 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

虽然他很辛苦,但是他从来不抱怨,因为他热爱自己的工作。
From Mock Exam 07 →
做子女的总是希望父母老了以后能在家中好好休息,不要那么辛苦。
From Mock Exam 12 →

FAQ

What does 辛 mean in Chinese?

辛 (xīn) means bitter; toilsome, laborious; 8th heavenly stem. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 辛 have?

辛 is written in 7 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 辛?

The radical of 辛 is 辛 (bitter). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 辣.

What is the pinyin for 辛?

辛 is pronounced xīn.

What HSK 4 words use 辛?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 辛 appears in 1 word, including 辛苦 (xīnkǔ). See the full list above.

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