HSK 5 · Ideas

形势 xíngshì “circumstances” in Chinese

Traditional 形勢

What 形势 means

  1. circumstances
  2. situation
  3. terrain

Measure word 个 gè · 一个形势 yí ge xíngshì

How to say 形势

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale形xíng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale势shì4th tone, falling

形势 in a sentence

  1. 形势似乎非常紧张严峻。

    Xíngshì sìhū fēicháng jǐnzhāng yánjùn.

    The situation seemed very tense and serious.

    Sentence #13285183 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 文章开头讲了当前的形势。

    Wénzhāng kāitóu jiǎng le dāngqián de xíngshì.

    The article begins with an account of the current situation.

    Sentence #12568858 from Tatoeba

  3. 两相比较，他那边的形势更不利一些。

    Liǎngxiāng bǐjiào, tā nàbian de xíngshì gèng búlì yìxiē.

    Comparing the two, his situation is somewhat less favourable.

    Sentence #8845148 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 形势 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 形 (xíng) with each of its parts in a different colour
形xíngto appear
  • 开to open · kāi
  • 彡bristle · shān
The character 势 (shì) with each of its parts in a different colour
势shìpower
  • 执to execute · zhíSound part
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

力 hints at the meaning (strength); 执 (zhí) hints at the sound. Compare it with shì.

How to write 形势

形 7 strokes · 势 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

形势 (xíngshì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 形势 (xíngshì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 形势

Words with 形

形容xíngróng · to describe形成xíngchéng · to form形式xíngshì · form形象xíngxiàng · image形状xíngzhuàng · form情形qíngxing · situation形态xíngtài · form

Words with 势

姿势zīshì · posture趋势qūshì · trend优势yōushì · superiority地势dìshì · terrain手势shǒushì · gesture势力shìli · power局势júshì · situation (esp. political or military)气势qìshì · momentum声势shēngshì · momentum势必shìbì · bound to

More words: Ideas & Concepts

象征xiàngzhēng · emblem效率xiàolǜ · efficiency行为xíngwéi · action形式xíngshì · form形象xíngxiàng · image形状xíngzhuàng · form性质xìngzhì · nature样式yàngshì · type

FAQs

形势 (xíngshì) means “circumstances” or “situation”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xíngshì: xíng with a 2nd tone, then shì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 形势 is written 形勢. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one circumstances is 一个形势 (yí ge xíngshì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xingshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 形势 from the suggestions. Typing xingshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
形势 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.