贤
worthy, virtuous
At a glance · 贤
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 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.
贤字小篆从貝臤声（繁體賢），为形声字；本义为贤能、有德。甲骨文未见。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
贤本义为贤能、贤德之人。
Structure
形声字，下部『貝』为意符（财富引申才德），上部『臤』为声符。
At a glance
Pinyinxián
Radical贝
Strokes8
UnicodeU+8D24
Character type形声
Theme德行
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
worthy, virtuous
Xian is a phonetic-semantic character meaning worthy and virtuous.
Français
digne, vertueux
Xian est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant digne et vertueux.
Español
digno, virtuoso
Xian es un carácter fonosemántico que significa digno y virtuoso.
العربية
جدير، فاضل
شيان حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الجدير والفاضل.
Русский
достойный, добродетельный
Сянь — фоносемантический знак, означающий достойный и добродетельный.
Common words
- 贤能xián néngworthy
- 圣贤shèng xiánsage