xian
/ʃiæn/
xian noun: an administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).). Also the alternative form of Xian.
Noun (1)
xian (plural xians)
- An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).)
- Tight and dense motifs occur on bronzes excavated in 1923 from a tomb at Lijialou at Xinzheng Xian in southern Henan attributed to the small state of Zheng.1987, Jessica Rawson, “The Eastern Zhou Period”, in Chinese Bronzes: Art and Ritual, British Museum Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 47
- At the time of the elections (1980) Nanjing was subdivided into three suburban counties (xian) and nine urban districts (qu).1990, Barrett L. McCormick, “Elections to Local People's Congresses”, in Political Reform in Post-Mao China: Democracy and Bureaucracy in a Leninist State, University of California Press, →ISBN...
- Synonyms:
- county
Proper noun (1) capitalized: Xian
Xian
- Alternative spelling of Xi'an.
- "Archeologists drew almost a complete blank in their search of the inner tomb," the official New China News Agency said Saturday in a report of excavations at the tomb site, thought to be between 2,200 and 2,800 years old. The site is in Fengxiang County of Shaanxi Province, about 90 miles west of...1986 June 16, “CHINESE TOMB FOUND TO BE VICTIM OF GRAVE ROBBERS”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, B, page 10
- Next came several more days of sightseeing that included a few opportunities to observe the changes going on in China, as well as a fascinating look into its past. We flew to Xian, the ancient capital of China, then drove almost ninety minutes to the tomb of China's first emperor and the site where...1990, Ronald Reagan, An American Life, Pocket Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 371
Proper noun (2) capitalized: Xian
Xian (plural Xians)
- A surname from Chinese.
Noun (2) capitalized: Xian
Xian (plural Xians)
- Abbreviation of Christian.
Adjective capitalized: Xian
Xian (not comparable)
- Abbreviation of Christian.
Also used as
xian is also the alternative form of Xian.
xian is also the alternative spelling of sian.
Synonyms of xian
Forms of xian
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | xians |
| alternative form | hsien |
| plural | Xians |
| alternative form | xian |
| alternative form | Xtian |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more xian |
| superlative | most xian |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Xians |
Origin of xian
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 縣 /县.
An alternative capitalization of Xian.
c. late 20th c., from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Chinese 西安 (Xī'ān, “Western Peace”), without syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)).
Words formed from xian
Phrases with xian
Questions about xian
- What does xian mean?
- Xian means an administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).).
- What part of speech is xian?
- Xian can be a noun, a proper noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce xian?
- Xian is pronounced /ʃiæn/.
- What is the plural of xian?
- The plural of xian is xians.
Words near xian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: xian (page history and authors); Xian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “xian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/xian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.