Chinese word

县

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiàn

Meaning

  • nouncounty

Example

这个县有很多村子。zhè ge xiàn yǒu hěn duō cūn zi

This county has many villages.

Illustration for 县 (county)

More examples

很多学生高中毕业后回到县里工作或创业。hěn duō xué shēng gāo zhōng bì yè hòu huí dào xiàn lǐ gōng zuò huò chuàng yè

Many students return to the county to work or start businesses after graduating from high school.

Core concept

A county-level area organized around one central town and responsible for several smaller communities.

Common phrases

  • 离开县城lí kāi xiàn chéng

    leave the county seat

  • 回到县里huí dào xiàn lǐ

    return to the county

  • 县里xiàn lǐ

    within the county

Similar words

市shì: An urban administrative area with a concentrated population, services, and public facilities.
省shěng: A large administrative region responsible for several lower-level administrative areas.
村cūn: A small settlement, usually rural, where residents often live and work in an agricultural community.

Definition in Chinese

中国的基层行政区，通常隶属于地级市或直辖市下，以县城为行政中心，下辖若干乡、镇和村，负责地方行政、治安、教育与税务等事务。zhōng guó de jī céng xíng zhèng qū tōng cháng lì shǔ yú dì jí shì huò zhí xiá shì xià yǐ xiàn chéng wèi xíng zhèng zhōng xīn xià xiá ruò gān xiāng zhèn hé cūn fù zé dì fāng xíng zhèng zhì ān jiào yù yǔ shuì wù děng shì wù

Word origin

县 (xiàn, "county") is the simplified form of an older character whose original image was something hanging and whose meaning later shifted to an area governed from a fixed seat.

Usage tips

  • In mainland Chinese addresses, locations are often narrowed from province to city to county, so the county name usually follows the city name.

Related words

  • 县里xiàn lǐcounty areanoun
  • 县城xiàn chéngcounty seatnoun

Word lists with this word