How to Write 歆 (xīn) — Meaning “to enjoy; to admire”

Imagine you hear beautiful music (音) and you open your mouth wide (欠) in awe — that is 歆, the feeling of admiring something. You can also think of the pinyin 'xīn' sounding like 'shin': when you admire someone, you might kneel and touch your shin to the ground.

The left part 音 has nine strokes and needs to be written compactly, with the top horizontal shorter than the bottom one. The right part 欠 starts with a small left-falling stroke, then a horizontal hook, followed by a longer left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke (捺) that extends below the left part.

The main difference is the left side: 歆 uses 音 (sound), while 欲 uses 谷 (valley) and 欶 uses 束 (bundle). Meaning-wise, 歆 expresses positive admiration or enjoyment, whereas 欲 means 'desire' (often with a stronger or negative sense) and 欶 means 'to sip' or 'to suck'.

歆 is a literary character not used in everyday speech; it appears in formal or written contexts such as 歆羡 (to admire) and 歆慕 (to adore). The word 歆享 specifically refers to enjoying sacrificial offerings in ancient ceremonies, showing its cultural roots in classical texts.

Common words containing 歆 include: 歆羡 (xīn xiàn) — to admire; to envy; 歆慕 (xīn mù) — to admire; to adore; 歆享 (xīn xiǎng) — to enjoy (sacrificial offerings).