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残

殘
cán
adjective HSK 7-9 #5,783

Meanings

  1. 1 to destroy; cruel; ruthless
  2. 2 disabled; incomplete; remaining

Examples

战争是残酷的。
Zhànzhēng shì cánkù de.
War is cruel.
他是一名残疾人。
Tā shì yī míng cánjírén.
He is a disabled person.
杯子里还有残留的水。
Bēizi lǐ háiyǒu cánliú de shuǐ.
There is still residual water in the cup.

Tips

usage
残酷 (cánkù) = cruel, 残疾 (cánjí) = disabled, 残留 (cánliú) = residual. The core idea is something damaged or incomplete.

Components

radical
歹 dǎi
bad; bone fragments
Left bone-fragment radical — depicts shattered bones, the visual icon for death and decay. Anchors 残 in the damage-and-remains family alongside 死 (die), 殃 (calamity), 殆 (perilous). Tells the reader instantly: this concerns destruction or what is left after it.
phonetic
戋 jiān
few; small
Right component supplies the sound (jiān → cán, consonant drift) and a fitting semantic echo. Traditional 殘 used 戔 (two stacked 戈 spears, 'cut down to little'); the simplified 戋 keeps the same sense. Bones plus 'cut down few' = damage, ruin, what remains. Same phonetic in 浅 qiǎn, 钱 qián, 贱 jiàn.

Stroke Order

残 cán