xian

¹ American  

[shyahn] / ʃyɑn /

noun

1. hsien.

---

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.

---

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)

---

Example Sentences

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

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

From Washington Post • May 15, 2018

The key to quality Sichuan cooking, notes Dunlop, is not to drown out the dish’s essential xian with red chile oil, ginger, garlic, pickled chiles or any other pungent ingredient.

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