慢 (màn) · slow

Meanings

1 slow

Characters

慢

màn

slow

忄 (heart) + 曼 (extended) - an extended, unhurried heart.

Examples

HSK 1

请说慢一点。

Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.

Please speak more slowly.

HSK 2

他走路很慢。

Tā zǒulù hěn màn.

He walks very slowly.

HSK 3

慢慢来，不着急。

Mànmàn lái, bù zháojí.

Take your time, no rush.

Tips

culture

慢走 ('walk slowly') is said to departing guests, meaning 'take care' or 'goodbye.' It's a warm, traditional farewell.

usage

慢慢 (slowly/gradually) is extremely common: 慢慢来 (take your time), 慢慢学 (learn gradually).

Components

radical

忄 xīn

heart (radical form)

Left heart-radical 忄 - the side form of 心 - the indexing radical. Anchors 慢 in the family of inner-state adjectives: 快 (fast/glad), 怕 (afraid), 忙 (busy). The heart is where the leisurely or careless attitude lives.

phonetic

曼 màn

graceful; long; drawn-out

Right 曼 supplies the sound màn exactly. 曼 itself means 'long, drawn-out, graceful,' so it doubles as a strong semantic clue: a slow, drawn-out attitude. Phonetic family: 漫 (overflow), 蔓 (vine), 馒 (steamed bun) - all on the 曼 sound, all with a 'spreading, long' nuance.