江湖 jiāng hú

martial arts world; criminal underworld

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 11127th word

Definitions

  1. 1. section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law
  2. 2. underworld
  3. 3. (in modern times) triads
  4. 4. secret gangster societies
  5. 5. the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. wǔ xiá)
  6. 6. all corners of the country
  7. 7. rivers and lakes
  8. 8. demimonde
  9. 9. remote areas to which hermits retreat
  10. 10. (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc

Characters

Character Meaning
river; surname Jiang
lake