夏
summer
HSK level
- Pinyin
- xià
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 10
- Register
- written
- Measure word
- 个
Stroke order for 夏
夏 is written with 10 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 夏 mean?
夏 (xià) is the noun 'summer' — one of the four seasons (春 spring, 夏 summer, 秋 autumn, 冬 winter).
On its own, 夏 is bookish and rarely used in conversation; Chinese speakers say 夏天 (xiàtiān, 'summer day' → summer) in daily speech. The bare 夏 shows up in fixed compounds: 夏季 (xiàjì, 'summer season,' used in weather reports and business), 夏装 (xiàzhuāng, 'summer clothing'), 夏令营 (xiàlìngyíng, 'summer camp'), 立夏 (lìxià, 'start of summer,' a solar term).
夏 is also a surname and the name of China's legendary first dynasty (the Xia dynasty, 夏朝). Learners should memorize 夏 as the building block but expect to USE 夏天 in conversation: 我喜欢夏天 (I like summer), not 我喜欢夏.
Note: 夏 alone is literary / written. In everyday speech, Chinese always says 夏天 (xiàtiān, 'summer') — the two-syllable form. 夏 standalone appears in compounds, surnames, and the historical Xia (夏) dynasty.
Example sentences
北京的夏天很热。
Běijīng de xiàtiān hěn rè.
Beijing's summers are very hot.
neutral
夏天我喜欢去游泳。
Xiàtiān wǒ xǐhuan qù yóuyǒng.
In summer I like to go swimming.
spoken
今年夏天，我想去日本。
Jīnnián xiàtiān, wǒ xiǎng qù Rìběn.
This summer I want to go to Japan.
neutral
夏季的水果很多，也很便宜。
Xiàjì de shuǐguǒ hěn duō, yě hěn piányi.
There's a lot of summer fruit, and it's cheap too.
written
孩子们在夏令营玩得很开心。
Háizimen zài xiàlìngyíng wán de hěn kāixīn.
The kids had a great time at summer camp.
neutral
Common phrases with 夏
Synonyms
夏天 is the everyday spoken word for 'summer.' 夏 is the bare morpheme — use 夏天 when speaking. They mean the same season; the difference is register.
夏季 is the formal/written word — used in weather reports, sports seasons (夏季奥运会 Summer Olympics), and business. 夏天 in casual speech; 夏季 in print and formal contexts.
Don't confuse 夏 with
FAQ
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