乡

• 拼音: xiāng
• 汉字拆解: 乡 = simplified from 鄉, depicting people eating together, symbolizing community

含义

Countryside; rural area; hometown; township. Refers to rural regions as opposed to urban areas.

Can mean both the general countryside and one's specific hometown or native place. Appears in compounds like 家乡 (hometown), 乡村 (village), 乡下 (countryside), and 乡亲 (fellow villagers). Also an administrative unit between county and village.

例句

1. 他从小在乡下长大，对农村生活很熟悉。
2. 每年春节他都要回乡探亲。
3. 这个乡一共有十二个村子。

用法指南

语境: geography, identity

语气: nostalgic

正确说法

• 我的家乡在南方一个小乡镇。(My hometown is a small township in the south.)
• 他有浓厚的乡土情怀。(He has a strong attachment to his rural roots.)

错误说法

• 我住在乡 (Incomplete — specify 乡下 for countryside living or name the specific township)

起源与历史

Ancient pictograph showing two people sharing food, representing the communal nature of village life.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal