儉 meaning and stroke order
Temperate, frugal, economical
How to write 儉, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 儉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) frugal; thrifty
How 儉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 僉 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 儉
儉 is a person 亻 next to 僉 (qiān), which gives the sound. Picture a person who keeps everything gathered together and wastes nothing, a thrifty person.
儉 is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words like 節儉 (jiéjiǎn, frugal) or 勤工儉學 (qíngōng-jiǎnxué, work-study). Example: 他生活很節儉。(Tā shēnghuó hěn jiéjiǎn.) He lives very frugally.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 儉 (jiǎn, frugal) with 檢 (jiǎn, to inspect) and 險 (xiǎn, danger), which share the 僉 part. Check the left side: 亻 person for frugal, 木 wood for inspect, 阝 for danger.
Common words with 儉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 儉
How many strokes are in 儉?
儉 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 儉 mean?
儉 (jiǎn) means temperate, frugal, economical. A common word with it is 节俭 (jiéjiǎn), meaning "frugal; economical".
How do you pronounce 儉?
儉 is pronounced jiǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 儉?
The radical of 儉 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 儉 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 儉?
儉 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 俭, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can I say 他很儉 to mean he is frugal?
No. 儉 does not stand alone in modern speech. Say 他很節儉 (tā hěn jiéjiǎn) instead.
What is the opposite of 儉?
The common opposite is 奢 (shē, extravagant), as in 奢侈 (shēchǐ, luxurious). The set phrase 由儉入奢易 (yóu jiǎn rù shē yì) means it is easy to go from thrift to luxury.