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.
西xīwest
兀weak · wù
囗enclosure · wéi
Memory aidDrawn from a bird's nest. It was borrowed early on for “west”.
红hóngred
纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
工work · gōngSound part
纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 工 (gōng) hints at the sound. Compare it with hóng.
Memory aidSilk 纟 with 工 (gōng) for the sound: red, the colour of dyed silk.
柿shìpersimmon
木tree · mùMeaning part
市city · shìSound part
木 hints at the meaning (tree); 市 (shì) hints at the sound. Compare it with shì.
How to write 西红柿
西 6 strokes · 红 6 strokes · 柿 9 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 西红柿 (xīhóngshì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
西红柿 (xīhóngshì) means “tomato”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it xīhóngshì: xī with a 1st tone, then hóng 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, 西红柿 is written 西紅柿. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xihongshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 西红柿 from the suggestions. Typing xihongshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
西红柿 is an HSK 4 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.
西xī1st tone, high and level
红hóng2nd tone, rising
柿shì4th tone, falling
