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Choosing Mnemonics

Pick the mnemonic story that sticks best for you by clicking its ☆ — there's no wrong choice, and you'll be able to write your own soon. Then press Continue.

西

西
= xi + Ø1
the West / abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2] / Spanish
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How to pronounce 西

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= xi initial

Xi is for Xi Shi (西施), one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago
+ Ø1 final

In front of the space station.

By Matthias • updated about 2 months ago

西 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
= w + Ø4
cut off the feet / rising to a height / towering / bald
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wéi = w + ei2
enclosure
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Characters with 西 as component

shài = sh + ai4
(of the sun) to shine on / to bask in (the sunshine) / to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun / (fig.) to expose and share (one's experiences and thoughts) on the Web (loanword from "share") / (coll.) to give the cold shoulder to
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shài = sh + ai4
variant of 曬|晒[shai4]
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= xi + Ø1
sacrifice
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Words with 西

show 974 more
thing / stuff / person / CL:個|个[ge4],件[jian4]
east and west

Sentences with 西

shì
shén
me
dōng
西
xi
 
 
gǎn
lái
guǎn
sūn
ye

Want to remember 西 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

西

the West / abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2] / Spanish

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Prompt snippets

The cowboy hat is a classic, weathered Stetson-style cowboy hat crafted from dark chocolate brown beaver felt, featuring a high, cattleman-creased crown, a wide, subtly upturned raw-edge brim, and a thin, matching leather band adorned with a single small, silver three-piece buckle set.