腥

Tap the pinyin to hear it

fishy (smell)

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

⺼ meaning “meat” + 星 sound ( xīng )

Components ⺼星

fishy smell · Heisig RSH #2572

flesh + 星 star

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
腥风血雨	xīng fēng xuè yǔ	(lit.) foul wind and bloody rain (idiom); (fig.) reign of terror; carnage
血雨腥风	xuè yǔ xīng fēng	see 腥風血雨\|腥风血雨[xing1 feng1 xue4 yu3]
鱼腥草	yú xīng cǎo	chameleon plant; fish mint (Houttuynia cordata)
血腥玛丽	Xuè xīng Mǎ lì	Bloody Mary
血腥	xuè xīng	reeking of blood; bloody (events)
土腥	tǔ xīng	(of a taste or smell) earthy
腥臭	xīng chòu	fishy and smelly
偷腥	tōu xīng	to cheat on one's spouse; to have an affair
荤腥	hūn xīng	meat and fish
臊腥	sāo xīng	stench; stink

Characters sharing the sound component 星 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
星 sound part	xīng	star, planet; a point of light
醒	xǐng	to wake up, to startle; to sober up
猩	xīng	ape, orangutan
戥	děng	a steelyard balance for weighing money