HSK 5 · Adjectives

抽象 chōuxiàng “abstract” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 抽象 means

  1. abstract
  2. abstraction

Measure word 种 zhǒng · 一种抽象 yì zhǒng chōuxiàng

How to say 抽象

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale抽chōu1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale象xiàng4th tone, falling

抽象 in a sentence

  1. 一些抽象艺术是很难理解的。

    Yìxiē chōuxiàng yìshù shì hěn nán lǐjiě de.

    Some abstract art is difficult to understand.

    Sentence #798166 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 这个描述太抽象了。

    Zhè ge miáoshù tài chōuxiàng le.

    This description is too abstract.

    Sentence #8635820 from Tatoeba

How 抽象 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 抽 (chōu) with each of its parts in a different colour
抽chōuto draw out; to pull out from in between
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 由cause · yóuSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 由 (yóu) hints at the sound. Compare it with chōu.

The character 象 (xiàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
象xiàngelephant
  • ⺈knife form of 刀 · dāo
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 豕pig · shǐMeaning part

How to write 抽象

抽 8 strokes · 象 11 strokes

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

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

Words related to 抽象

Words with 抽

抽烟chōuyān · to smoke (a cigarette抽屉chōuti · drawer

Words with 象

印象yìnxiàng · impression对象duìxiàng · target象棋xiàngqí · Chinese chess想象xiǎngxiàng · to imagine大象dàxiàng · elephant现象xiànxiàng · phenomenon象征xiàngzhēng · emblem形象xíngxiàng · image气象qìxiàng · meteorology迹象jìxiàng · sign

More words: Adjectives

成熟chéngshú · mature沉默chénmò · silent诚恳chéngkěn · sincere充分chōngfèn · ample丑chǒu · ugly臭chòu · smelly出色chūsè · remarkable初级chūjí · elementary

FAQs

抽象 (chōuxiàng) means “abstract” or “abstraction”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it chōuxiàng: chōu with a 1st tone, then xiàng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 抽象 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 种 (zhǒng). For example, one abstract is 一种抽象 (yì zhǒng chōuxiàng).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chouxiang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 抽象 from the suggestions. Typing chouxiang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
抽象 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.