淡 meaning and stroke order
Insipid; diluted; weak
How to write 淡, 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 淡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- insipid
- diluted
- weak
- mild
- light in color
- tasteless
How 淡 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 炎 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 淡
淡 is water 氵 added to 炎 (yán), which also gives the sound. Picture pouring water over something strong and fiery: the taste and color become weak and light.
淡 describes food that is not salty or strongly flavored, colors that are pale, and feelings or attitudes that are mild or cool. It often appears in words like 清淡 (qīngdàn) and 冷淡 (lěngdàn). Example: 这个汤太淡了。(Zhège tāng tài dàn le.) This soup is too bland.
Common mistake: Learners confuse 淡 (dàn) with 谈 (tán, to talk), which has the same 炎 part but the speech radical 讠 and a different initial and tone. Also remember 淡 is fourth tone, not the second tone of 炎 (yán).
Common words with 淡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 冷淡 | lěngdàn | cold; indifferent | HSK 7-9 |
| 平淡 | píngdàn | flat; dull | HSK 7-9 |
| 清淡 | qīngdàn | light (of food, not greasy or strongly flavored); insipid | HSK 7-9 |
| 淡化 | dànhuà | to water down; to play down | HSK 7-9 |
| 淡季 | dànjì | off season; slow business season | HSK 7-9 |
| 扯淡 | chědàn | to talk nonsense | |
| 淡定 | dàndìng | calm and collected; unperturbed | |
| 淡水 | Dànshuǐ | freshwater | |
| 暗淡 | àndàn | dark; dim (light); dull (color); drab; (fig.) gloomy; bleak | |
| 淡忘 | dànwàng | to gradually forget as time passes; to have (sth) fade from one's memory | |
| 轻描淡写 | qīngmiáodànxiě | (idiom) to treat sth as no big deal; to downplay | |
| 黯淡 | àndàn | variant of 暗淡[an4 dan4] |
淡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 淡
How many strokes are in 淡?
淡 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 淡 mean?
淡 (dàn) means insipid; diluted; weak. A common word with it is 冷淡 (lěngdàn), meaning "cold; indifferent".
How do you pronounce 淡?
淡 is pronounced dàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 淡?
The radical of 淡 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 淡 under this radical.
Is 淡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 淡 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do I say a color is light, like light blue, with 淡?
Put 淡 before the color: 淡蓝色 (dàn lánsè) light blue, 淡绿色 (dàn lǜsè) light green. The opposite is 深 (shēn), as in 深蓝色 (shēn lánsè) dark blue.
What does 淡定 mean in everyday speech?
淡定 (dàndìng) means calm and unbothered, and it is very common in casual speech and online. People say 淡定 to tell someone to stay calm, much like "chill" or "relax" in English.