六 (liù) means "six" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: six
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form of 六 shows a simple hut or tent-like shape, two slanting lines meeting at a peak over a small base. The pictographic origin is contested: some scholars read it as a primitive shelter (the original graph for 廬 'hut'), others as an abstract numeral sign with no object referent. Whatever the source, it was borrowed very early as the number six.
Form evolution
Bronze inscriptions keep the peaked-roof outline with slight thickening of the strokes. Seal script regularises it into a symmetrical shape with a horizontal top stroke and two splayed legs. The clerical reform flattens the peak into the modern dot-plus-horizontal top (亠) and straightens the legs, giving the four-stroke 六 of 楷书.
How the meaning evolved
Even in the oldest attested uses 六 already means 'six'; if it ever denoted a physical hut, that meaning was lost in prehistory. It remained a pure numeral throughout classical and modern Chinese with no significant extension. It also features in ordinal and compound number expressions like 十六 and 六十.
Cultural note
In modern Mandarin 六 (liù) is considered lucky because it sounds close to 流 (liú, 'to flow') in the phrase 六六大顺 (everything goes smoothly). Six-digit phone numbers and licence plates with many 6s command a premium in mainland China for this reason.
Basic info
Example sentences
六点钟。
Liù diǎn zhōng.
Six o'clock.
From 六 (HSK 1)
Words containing 六
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 六 | liù | six | HSK 1 |
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.