敢 meaning and stroke order
To dare; daring; (polite) may I venture
How to write 敢, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 敢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to dare
- daring
- (polite) may I venture
How 敢 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A hand with a stick 攵 striking a beast 耳.
Radical: 攵 (to rap), shared by 36 characters on this site.
How to remember 敢
On the left you can see 耳, which the etymology hint reads as a wild beast, and on the right is 攵, a hand holding a stick. Picture someone walking up to a beast and striking it with a stick: only a bold person would dare to do that.
敢 (gǎn) works like a helping verb placed before another verb to mean "to dare to do something," and it is very often negated as 不敢 (bù gǎn). Example: 我不敢一个人去。(Wǒ bù gǎn yí gè rén qù.) I don't dare to go alone. It also appears in set words like 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn, brave) and the modest reply 不敢当 (bùgǎndāng, you flatter me).
Common mistake: Learners often say 我不敢 when they mean "I can't," but 敢 is about courage, not ability. Use 不能 or 不会 for inability, and save 不敢 for fear or nerve. The left side is also easy to miswrite, since it is not a plain 耳 with nothing on top.
Common words with 敢
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 勇敢 | yǒnggǎn | brave; courageous | HSK 4 |
| 不敢当 | bùgǎndāng | lit. I dare not (accept the honor); fig. I don't deserve your praise; you flatter me | HSK 5 |
| 敢于 | gǎnyú | to have the courage to do sth; to dare to | HSK 6 |
| 竟敢 | jìnggǎn | to have the impertinence; to have the cheek to | HSK 7-9 |
| 敢情 | gǎnqing | actually; as it turns out | HSK 7-9 |
| 胆敢 | dǎngǎn | to dare (negative connotation); to have the audacity to (do sth) | |
| 敢死队 | gǎnsǐduì | suicide squad; kamikaze unit |
敢 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 敢
Learning 敢 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 敢
How many strokes are in 敢?
敢 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 敢 mean?
敢 (gǎn) means to dare; daring; (polite) may I venture. A common word with it is 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn), meaning "brave; courageous".
How do you pronounce 敢?
敢 is pronounced gǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 敢?
The radical of 敢 is 攵, which carries the idea of "to rap". Dictionaries list 敢 under this radical.
Is 敢 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 敢 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 敢 and 勇敢?
敢 is mainly used before a verb, as in 敢说 (dare to speak). 勇敢 is an adjective meaning brave and describes a person or an action, as in 他很勇敢 (he is very brave). You would not normally say 他很敢 to mean he is brave.
Does 敢 ever sound rude or negative?
It can, depending on the word. 竟敢 (jìnggǎn) and 胆敢 (dǎngǎn) suggest someone had the cheek or audacity to do something. A phrase like 你敢! (you dare) can also be a threat, while 不敢当 is polite and humble.