How to Write 厢 (xiāng) — Meaning “wing; side room; box (in a theater)”

Imagine a cliff (厂) with a wooden box (相, which contains 木 for wood and 目 for eye) placed against its side—the box is a private side room. Or think of the sound "xiāng" as "she-ong" — a side room where she goes to sing in a KTV box.

Write the radical 厂 first (horizontal stroke then left-falling stroke), then the inner 相 (木: horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling; then 目: vertical, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal, vertical). A common mistake is making the inner 相 too wide—keep it narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

厗 is an extremely rare character and almost never used in modern Chinese, whereas 厢 is common for rooms or compartments. 厘 (lí) looks similar but has 里 (lǐ, inside/unit) instead of 相; it means "centimeter" or "to regulate," not related to buildings or rooms.

厢 appears in words like 车厢 (train carriage), 包厢 (private room in a restaurant or KTV), and 厢房 (wing room in a traditional Chinese courtyard house). Culturally, in a 四合院 (courtyard house), the east and west 厢房 were often used by younger family members or guests.

Common words containing 厢 include: 车厢 (chē xiāng) — carriage, compartment, or cabin; 包厢 (bāo xiāng) — private room (in a restaurant or KTV); 厢房 (xiāng fáng) — wing room.