xiāng, xiàng
mutual
Original meaning:
look at
Depicts an eye (目) looking at a tree (木). Based on the original meaning "look at". The meaning of this character has shifted over time to "compare" and "each other".
Evolution

Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze script
Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)Regular script
ModernDefinitions
xiāng
mutual, reciprocal, each other; each other; one another; mutually; fret on the neck of a pipa 琵琶[pípa] (a fret on the soundboard is called a 品[pǐn])
Xiāng
surname Xiang
xiàng
appearance; portrait; picture; government minister; (physics) phase; (literary) to appraise (esp. by scrutinizing physical features); to read sb's fortune (by physiognomy, palmistry etc)
Most common words with 相
Freq. | Word | Meaning |
---|---|---|
to believe | ||
related | ||
appearance | ||
equivalent to | ||
the truth about sth |
Sources
季旭昇《說文新證》p.267