姓xìng

姓

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Simplified form (簡體). 姓 (xìng, "surname") remains unchanged from traditional, composed of 女 (woman) and 生 (birth) — a character that literally means "a woman's lineage," reflecting ancient China's matriarchal clan system where family names traced maternal descent. Today it appears in common words like 百姓 (hundred surnames, i.e., common people) and 姓名 (full name).

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Shuowen

姓. It combines 女 (woman) with 生 (birth); the oracle bone shape shows a woman beside a newborn, literally meaning “born of a woman,” originally denoting a matrilineal lineage and later a surname.

Pinyin

xìng· HSK 2

姓xìng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin