险 (xiǎn) · danger; dangerous; risky

Meanings

1 danger; dangerous; risky
2 nearly; almost
3 insurance

Characters

险

xiǎn

danger; dangerous; nearly

Examples

HSK 4

太危险了！

Tài wēixiǎn le!

It's too dangerous!

HSK 5

你买保险了吗？

Nǐ mǎi bǎoxiǎn le ma?

Have you bought insurance?

HSK 5

好险！差点儿摔倒。

Hǎo xiǎn! Chàdiǎnr shuāidǎo.

That was close! I almost fell down.

Tips

usage

The 'insurance' sense is bound - 险 on its own doesn't mean 'insurance'; you need the compound 保险. Common families: 医保, 车险, 人寿险.

usage

险 is used in: 危险 (dangerous), 保险 (insurance), 冒险 (take risks/adventure), 险些 (nearly/almost). 好险 is a common exclamation meaning 'that was a close call!'

Components

radical

阝 fù

mound; hill (left-form)

Left mound radical, the left-side form of 阜, picturing a stepped hillside or steep slope. It supplies the meaning: dangerous terrain, treacherous heights. 险 originally meant a steep mountain pass - a place of physical peril - and from there generalised to 'danger, risk, hazard' in any sense. Same family includes 阵 (formation), 防 (defend), 阻 (block), 隘 (narrow pass).

phonetic

佥 qiān

all; together (here phonetic)

Right 佥 supplies the sound - qiān shifted to xiǎn, regular palatal alternation in this Old Chinese series. 佥 itself shows people gathered under a roof, originally meaning 'all, together'; that meaning is incidental here, read for sound. Same phonetic family includes 检 (examine), 验 (test), 俭 (frugal), 脸 (face), 险 - all sharing the 佥 phonetic.