Chinese symbol for “preface”
序言
xù yán
preface; introductory remarks; preamble; prelude
The closest CC-CEDICT match for preface is 序言 (xù yán), defined as: preface; introductory remarks; preamble; prelude.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “preface”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 前言 | qián yán | preface; foreword; introduction; preamble; earlier remarks; earlier words |
| 序文 | xù wén | preface; foreword |
| 序 | xù | (bound form) order; sequence; (bound form) introductory; initial |
| 序章 | xù zhāng | prologue; preface |
| 发刊词 (發刊詞) | fā kān cí | foreword; preface (to a publication) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 序言.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 程序 | chéng xù | procedures; sequence |
| 秩序 | zhì xù | order; orderliness (in society, in the classroom, on the roads etc) |
| 顺序 (順序) | shùn xù | sequence; order |
| 应用程序 (應用程序) | yìng yòng chéng xù | (computing) program; application |
| 序列 | xù liè | sequence |
| 排序 | pái xù | to sort; to arrange in order |
| 语言 (語言) | yǔ yán | language; 门 (mén),种 (zhǒng) |
| 而言 | ér yán | (typically preceded by 就… (jiù xx) or 对… (duì xx) etc) as far as ... is concerned; speaking in terms of ... |
See also: Japanese symbol for “preface”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.