夕 xī — evening; night · English

夕

xī

evening; night

At a glance · 夕

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文象半个月亮之形，本义为傍晚、夜。小篆作「夕」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为日暮、夜晚。

Structure

象形字，甲骨文象月牙（与「月」同源分化）。

At a glance

Pinyinxī

Radical夕

Strokes3

UnicodeU+5915

Character type象形

Theme天文

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English evening; night Evening or night.

Français soir; nuit Soir ou nuit.

Español tarde; noche Tarde o noche.

العربية مساء؛ ليل مساء أو ليل.

Русский вечер; ночь Вечер или ночь.

Common words

夕xīevening
夕阳xī yángsunset

◉ Listen