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• xian
  xian

  noun

  hsien.
• Xian
  Xian

  noun

  a city in and the capital of Shaanxi province, in central China: capital of the ancient Chinese Empire.
• Xi'an
  Xi'an

  noun

  an industrial city in central China, capital of Shaanxi province: capital of China for 970 years at various times between the 3rd century _bc and the 10th century _ad ; seat of the Northwestern University (1937); famous for Qin dynasty emperor Qinshihuang's tomb (207 _bc ) with 8000-strong terracotta army. Pop: 3 256 000 (2005 est)

xian

¹ American  

[shyahn] / ʃjɑn /

noun

1. hsien.

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Xian ² American  

[shee-ahn] / ˈʃiˈɑn /

(Older Spellings) Sian or Xi'an

noun

Pinyin.

1. a city in and the capital of Shaanxi province, in central China: capital of the ancient Chinese Empire.

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Xi'an British  

/ ʃjɑːn /

noun

1. Former names: Changan.   Siking.  an industrial city in central China, capital of Shaanxi province: capital of China for 970 years at various times between the 3rd century _bc and the 10th century _ad ; seat of the Northwestern University (1937); famous for Qin dynasty emperor Qinshihuang's tomb (207 _bc ) with 8000-strong terracotta army. Pop: 3 256 000 (2005 est)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

xian Xian Xi'an

The honeyed, minerally aromatics of lao xian weng, also called Eternity, will dazzle even the most well-versed tea lover.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

One other point to remember: All Chinese cooks value a characteristic known as xian.

From Washington Post ● May 15, 2018

Today, we might call xian by a different name: umami.

From Washington Post ● May 15, 2018

Hand-pulled string noodles, called mian xian in Mandarin, have been made for around 2,000 years.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2014

The Northern Chinese restaurant is known for its meat-and-vegetable-stuffed pies known as xian bing as well as its savory pancakes, beef rolls and six-layer minced “homeland meat cake.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s exports momentum may moderate in the first half of this year, as the impact of front-loaded demand fades and commodity prices soften, RHB economist Wong Xian Yong said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

As BNP Paribas analyst Xian Siew put it, investor expectations had “come down meaningfully” since the last earnings report, given higher fuel prices and worries about profitability.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026

“The way the stock trades could decouple from fundamentals,” BNP Paribas analyst Xian Siew said in a note Thursday.

From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026

Russian TU-95MS strategic missile carriers and the Chinese air force's Xian H-6 strategic bombers were deployed, according to Russia.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024

The card allotted to Gissing was marked, in Mr. Poodle's neat script, Friendly, but vague as to definite participation in Xian activities.

From Where the Blue Begins by Morley, Christopher

“Short-haul transport of methanol from Iran to the rest of the Persian Gulf; crew change in Dubai,” said one advertisement posted this month by a ship management company in the city of Xi’an recruiting seafarers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Another fan, who came from Wu Yize's home province and took hours to reach Xi'an via high-speed train, brought along a photo of the champion to get it signed.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

"We used to have more than a dozen people in our team. Now I reckon maybe four to five people are sufficient," the veteran seller from Xi'an said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026

The team applied this approach in two major Chinese cities, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2026

Their popularity surged during the pandemic, and Huang, a 20-year-old college student in Xi’an, China, became obsessed with the short mobile shows during a holiday break with her family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2025