How to Write 侠 (xiá) — Meaning “knight-errant; chivalrous person”

Picture the left side 亻 as a person, and the right side 夹 as two swords crossed (the top and bottom horizontal lines with a person shape in the middle). Imagine a chivalrous hero standing with crossed swords, ready to defend the weak. This visual helps you remember both the form and the meaning.

Write the left radical 亻 first (left-falling stroke then vertical), then the right side 夹. In 夹, start with the top horizontal, then write the left-falling and right-falling strokes of the central 人, and finish with the bottom horizontal. A common mistake is making the central 人 look like 入 instead of 人—the top of the left-falling stroke should not connect to the top horizontal.

侠 has the right side 夹, which looks like a person between two horizontal lines, while 仰 has 卬 (a person kneeling) and 仲 has 中 (a box with a vertical line). Meaning-wise, 侠 is about chivalry and heroism, 仰 means to look up or admire, and 仲 means the second or middle position in a family.

侠 appears in common words like 大侠 (great hero) and 武侠 (martial arts hero), especially in wuxia novels and movies. Culturally, it represents a person who fights for justice and helps the weak, a central ideal in Chinese heroic stories. In daily life, people may call someone 大侠 jokingly to praise a brave or helpful act.

Common words containing 侠 include: 大侠 (dà xiá) — Great hero / martial arts master; 武侠 (wǔ xiá) — Martial arts hero; 侠客 (xiá kè) — knight-errant; swordsman.