懾 meaning and stroke order
Afraid, scared; to frighten, to intimidate
How to write 懾, stroke by stroke
21 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
Meaning of 懾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to fear; to be cowed
- (bound form) to frighten; to intimidate
- Taiwan pr. [zhe2]
How 懾 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 聶 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 懾
懾 combines the heart radical 忄, which shows that the character is about feelings, with 聶 (niè), which gives the sound. Picture three ears 耳 in 聶 all hearing a threat at once while your heart 忄 shrinks in fear.
懾 is a bound form. It almost never stands alone and appears mostly in formal words like 威懾 (wēishè, to deter) and 震懾 (zhènshè, to awe or intimidate). Example: 核武器有威懾作用。(Hé wǔqì yǒu wēishè zuòyòng.) Nuclear weapons have a deterrent effect.
Common mistake: Learners often read 懾 as niè because of its phonetic part 聶. The standard reading is shè, though Taiwan uses zhé. Do not confuse it with 攝 (shè, to absorb or take a photo), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the heart radical 忄.
Common words with 懾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 威懾 | wēishè | to deter | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 懾
How many strokes are in 懾?
懾 is written with 21 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 懾 mean?
懾 (shè) means afraid, scared; to frighten, to intimidate. A common word with it is 威慑 (wēishè), meaning "to deter".
How do you pronounce 懾?
懾 is pronounced shè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 懾?
The radical of 懾 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 懾 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 懾?
懾 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 慑, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the simplified form of 懾?
The simplified form is 慑, where 聶 is reduced to 聂. You will see 威慑 in mainland texts and 威懾 in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Can I use 懾 to say I am scared in everyday speech?
No. For everyday fear, use 怕 (pà) or 害怕 (hàipà). 懾 belongs to formal or written language, such as news about military deterrence or literary descriptions.