How to write 希 (xī, “to hope”)
希 (xī), an HSK 2 character, means “to hope” and “to admire”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 3 in the 2021 standard. China and Japan order its strokes differently: Chinese stroke 3, going rightwards, is the 4th in Japanese schools; Chinese stroke 4, going down and left, is the 3rd in Japanese schools. Dictionaries list it under the radical 巾 (“towel”). It is part of the HSK word 希望 (“to hope”), and of 几希 (“not much”) and 有希望 (“hopeful”). Japanese reads it ki, “hope”, as a JLPT N2 kanji.
- Pinyin
- xī
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 巾 (“towel”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
As a top-bottom character it splits into 乂 (“to regulate”), strokes 1–2; 布 (“to announce”), strokes 3–7, written the top first.
- topdown and left
- top leftdown and right
- leftrightwards
- topdown and left
- leftdownwards
- leftrightwards → downwards
- centerdownwards
Two stroke orders
Japan and China order its strokes differently: 2 strokes sit in another place. Japanese 3 = Chinese 4; Japanese 4 = Chinese 3.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| xī first tone | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀 (xī) | — | 希望 几希 有希望 大有希望 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 3
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 13 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 希
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 希望 | xīwàng | to hope; a hope HSK 2 |
| 几希 幾希 | jīxī | not much; very little |
| 有希望 | yǒuxīwàng | hopeful; promising |
| 大有希望 | dàyǒuxīwàng | to stand a good chance; to have great hopes |
| 一线希望 一線希望 | yīxiànxīwàng | a gleam of hope |
| 希望落空 | xīwàngluòkōng | hopes are dashed |
| 哈希 | hāxī | hash (computing); see also 散列 (sǎnliè) |
| 浅希近求 淺希近求 | qiǎnxījìnqiú | to aim low; to aim to get by |
| 希沃特 | xīwòtè | sievert (Sv), unit of radiation damage used in radiotherapy |
| 古希腊 古希臘 | gǔxīlà | ancient Greece |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 2, in list order: