婪 meaning and stroke order
To covet; covetous, avaricious
How to write 婪, stroke by stroke
11 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 婪
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- avaricious
- old variant of 婪[lan2]
How 婪 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 林 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 婪
婪 (lán) is a pictophonetic character: 林 (lín, forest) on top gives the sound, and 女 (nǚ, woman) below gives the meaning category. Picture someone who wants a whole forest of things for herself, never satisfied.
婪 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. You will meet it in the word 贪婪 (tānlán), meaning greedy or avaricious, used in writing and serious speech. Example: 他的眼神很贪婪。(Tā de yǎnshén hěn tānlán.) His eyes looked greedy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 婪 (lán) with 禁 (jìn), which also has 林 on top but 示 below. Also do not read it as lín just because of 林. The sound is lán, second tone.
Common words with 婪
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 贪婪 | tānlán | avaricious; greedy | HSK 7-9 |
婪 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 婪
Learning 婪 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 婪
How many strokes are in 婪?
婪 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 婪 mean?
婪 (lán) means to covet; covetous, avaricious. A common word with it is 贪婪 (tānlán), meaning "avaricious; greedy".
How do you pronounce 婪?
婪 is pronounced lán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 婪?
The radical of 婪 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 婪 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 婪?
The traditional form of 婪 is 惏. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 婪 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 婪 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 婪 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 贪婪 and 贪心?
Both mean greedy. 贪心 (tānxīn) is everyday and can be mild, even playful, while 贪婪 is stronger and more literary, suggesting deep, insatiable desire.
Can 贪婪 be used as a verb or adverb?
It is mainly an adjective, as in 贪婪的人 (a greedy person). With 地 it works adverbially, as in 贪婪地吃 (to eat greedily).