Chinese word

镶

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiāng

Meaning

  • verbset

Example

她的项链上镶着很多宝石。tā de xiàng liàn shàng xiāng zhe hěn duō bǎo shí

Her necklace is set with many gems.

Illustration for 镶 (set)

More examples

工匠把戒指上的小钻石镶得很牢固。gōng jiàng bǎ jiè zhǐ shàng de xiǎo zuàn shí xiāng de hěn láo gù

The craftsperson firmly set the small diamond in the ring.

Core concept

Fits a small object into a surrounding edge or surface so it stays in place and becomes part of the decoration.

Common phrases

  • 镶着宝石xiāng zhe bǎo shí

    be set with jewels

  • 镶上宝石xiāng shàng bǎo shí

    set jewels in

  • 镶金边xiāng jīn biān

    edge with gold

Similar words

装饰zhuāng shì: Add something decorative to improve the look of a person, place, or thing.
贴tiē: Stick something onto a surface with glue or another adhesive.
戴dài: Wear an accessory on the body, such as around the neck or on the hand.

Definition in Chinese

把宝石或其他小件用金属等材料嵌入到器物或首饰的表面或边缘，使其固定并起装饰作用。bǎ bǎo shí huò qí tā xiǎo jiàn yòng jīn shǔ děng cái liào qiàn rù dào qì wù huò shǒu shì de biǎo miàn huò biān yuán shǐ qí gù dìng bìng qǐ zhuāng shì zuò yòng

Word origin

The character 镶 (xiāng, "set") is a semantic-phonetic compound: 钅 (jīn, "metal") signals metalwork, while 襄 (xiāng, "assist") mainly supplies the sound.

Usage tips

  • In everyday descriptions, forms with 着 (zhe, "in a continuing state"), 上 (shàng, "onto"), and 有 (yǒu, "have") distinguish an established result, a new addition, and a visible feature.

Other meanings

  • borderverb
  • inlayverb

Opposites

  • 取下qǔ xiàtake out of its settingverb

Related words

  • 镶嵌xiāng qiàninlayverb
  • 镶边xiāng biāntrim with a borderverb
  • 镶入xiāng rùinsetverb

Word lists with this word