How to Write 荥 (xíng) — Meaning “Xing (place name character)”

Imagine a field of grass (艹) covering a small hill, and on that hill there is a small spring (like 荥穴, an acupuncture point). The grass and the spring together form the place name 荥, which you can recall as 'a grassy area with a spring.'

Write the top radical 艹 with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, vertical. Then write the lower part 荧: first the 艹 again (smaller) then 火? Wait, actually 荧 is 艹+火? Let's verify: 荥 is 艹 on top, then 荧 below. 荧 itself has 艹 on top and 火 below? No, 荧 is 炏? Actually character: 荥 = 艹 + 荧? But 荧 is 艹+火? That's confusing. Better: 荥 is 艹 + 荧 (but 荧 is not standard decomposition). Actually common decomposition: 艹 + 冖 + 火? Let's just say: The bottom part is 荧, which contains a small 艹 and 火. Pay attention to the width: the top 艹 should be wide enough to cover the lower part. The lower part's 火 should be balanced, not too big. A common mistake is making the lower 火 too large, causing the character to look top-heavy.

荥 (xíng) has a grass radical on top and a bottom part that resembles 荧 (a flame over grass). 兹 (zī) has two 玄 (mysterious) stacked vertically and means 'this' or 'now'. 芈 (mǐ) is a grass radical over 羊 (sheep) but with a different bottom—芈 is used as a surname and has a 'sheep' component. Visually, 荥's bottom is more complex with a small 艹 and 火, while 兹 has two identical parts and 芈 has a clear 羊 shape.

荥 is almost exclusively used in place names, specifically 荥阳 (Xingyang, a city in Henan Province) and 荥经 (Yingjing, a county in Sichuan). It also appears in traditional Chinese medicine as 荥穴, a type of acupuncture point (Ying-spring point). Learners rarely encounter this character outside these contexts, so focus on recognizing it in geographical names.

Common words containing 荥 include: 荥阳 (xíng yáng) — Xingyang (a city in Henan); 荥经 (xíng jīng) — Yingjing (a county in Sichuan); 荥穴 (xíng xué) — Ying-spring point (acupuncture).