忏 meaning and stroke order
To regret, to repent; confession, penitence
How to write 忏, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 6
Meaning of 忏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to feel remorse
- (bound form) scripture read to atone for sb's sins (from Sanskrit "ksama")
How 忏 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 千 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 忏
The heart radical 忄 on the left shows this is about feelings, and 千 (qiān, thousand) on the right gives the sound. Picture a heart carrying a thousand regrets, which is what repentance feels like.
忏 is a bound form, so it almost never stands alone. You will meet it mostly in 忏悔 (chànhuǐ), which means to repent or, in a religious setting, to confess. Example: 他为自己的错误忏悔。 (Tā wèi zìjǐ de cuòwù chànhuǐ.) He repented for his mistakes.
Common mistake: Learners often read 忏 as qiān because of the 千 part, but the correct reading is chàn with a falling fourth tone. Also do not confuse it with 仟 (qiān), which has the person radical 亻 and is the formal way to write "thousand".
Common words with 忏
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 忏悔 | chànhuǐ | to repent; (religion) to confess |
Questions about 忏
How many strokes are in 忏?
忏 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 忏 mean?
忏 (chàn) means to regret, to repent; confession, penitence. A common word with it is 忏悔 (chànhuǐ), meaning "to repent; (religion) to confess".
How do you pronounce 忏?
忏 is pronounced chàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 忏?
The radical of 忏 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 忏 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 忏?
The traditional form of 忏 is 懺. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 忏 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 忏悔 only used in religious contexts?
No. It has a religious sense of confessing sins, but it is also used for anyone who deeply regrets what they did. It is a serious, heavy word, stronger than everyday 后悔 (hòuhuǐ, to regret).
Why does 忏 have a Buddhist meaning?
One of its senses is scripture read to atone for someone's sins, a meaning connected to the Sanskrit word ksama. So in Buddhist settings 忏 can refer to these atonement texts and rites, not just the feeling of remorse.