hàn
adjective #7,753

Meanings

  1. 1 fierce; ferocious; bold
  2. 2 tough; brave; valiant

Examples

Zhège zhànshì fēicháng piāo hàn.
This warrior is extremely fierce and tough.
Tā shì gè hěn hàn de nǚrén.
She is a very tough woman.

Tips

usage
is rarely used alone in modern Chinese — it mostly appears in compounds: 凶悍 (fierce), 强悍 (tough/formidable), (agile and fierce), (bold and powerful). 悍妇 (hànfù) means 'a fierce/shrewish woman' — somewhat derogatory.

Components

radical
xīn
heart (radical form of 心)
Left heart radical — the side-form of . The indexing radical, files in the family of temperament/feeling chars: fear, anger, indignation, sincerity. Marks as a character trait of the heart — fierceness, boldness, hot-tempered courage, the inner fire that drives a brave or violent person.
phonetic
hàn
drought
Right supplies the sound — hàn exactly, no shift. Pure phonetic role; the 'drought' meaning contributes only a faint metaphor of harsh dry heat that fits a fierce temperament. Same phonetic family: sweat, defend, weld, brush. The pairing of heart + heat-of-drought is a useful mnemonic — a parched, burning heart is one quick to anger.

Stroke Order

hàn