tián
adjective #37,380

Meanings

  1. 1 quiet
  2. 2 calm
  3. 3 tranquil
  4. 4 peaceful

Examples

HSK 2
Tā xiào de hěn tián.
Her smile is serene.
HSK 4
Tián dàn de shēnghuó shì tā de zhuīqiú.
A quiet, simple life is what he seeks.

Tips

register
is literary and rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. You will see it almost exclusively in compounds: 恬静 (quiet/peaceful), 恬淡 (indifferent to fame), 恬不知耻 (brazen - literally calmly unaware of shame). Note the (heart) radical - the calm is internal.

Components

radical
xīn
heart (left-side radical form of 心)
Left-side heart radical, the upright form of used whenever the heart sits on the left. Carries the meaning: is an emotional state - calm, tranquil, untroubled. Indexes in the mood family with afraid, 怀 yearn, nature, feeling.
phonetic
shé
tongue
Right supplies the sound - shé drifting to tián through a well-attested old phonetic series shared with sweet, to bind, suitable. The 'tongue' meaning is not active; is purely a sound tag here for the soft, settled tián syllable.

Stroke Order

tián