慚 meaning and stroke order
Ashamed, humiliated; shameful
How to write 慚, stroke by stroke
14 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 慚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ashamed
How 慚 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 斬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 慚
The heart radical 忄 sits beside 斬 (zhǎn, to chop), which gives the sound. Picture your heart feeling chopped up when you are ashamed.
慚 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in the word 慚愧 (cánkuì, ashamed), often used humbly when receiving praise or admitting a fault. Example: 我感到很慚愧。(Wǒ gǎndào hěn cánkuì.) I feel very ashamed.
Common mistake: Learners often read 慚 as zhǎn because of its phonetic part 斬, but the correct reading is cán with a second tone. Also do not confuse it with 漸 (jiàn, gradually), which has the water radical 氵 instead of the heart radical.
Common words with 慚
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 慚愧 | cánkuì | ashamed | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 慚
How many strokes are in 慚?
慚 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 慚 mean?
慚 (cán) means ashamed, humiliated; shameful. A common word with it is 惭愧 (cánkuì), meaning "ashamed".
How do you pronounce 慚?
慚 is pronounced cán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 慚?
The radical of 慚 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 慚 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 慚?
慚 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 惭, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 慚愧 and 丟臉?
慚愧 (cánkuì) describes an inner feeling of guilt or shame about your own shortcomings. 丟臉 (diūliǎn) is more colloquial and focuses on losing face in front of others.
Why do people say 慚愧 when they are praised?
Saying 慚愧 after a compliment is a polite, modest response, similar to saying you do not deserve the praise. It shows humility rather than real shame.