狠 meaning and stroke order
Ruthless; fierce; ferocious; determined; resolute; to harden (one's heart)
How to write 狠, stroke by stroke
9 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 狠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ruthless; fierce; ferocious
- determined; resolute
- to harden (one's heart)
- old variant of 很[hen3]
How 狠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.
犭 gives the meaning and 艮 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 狠
The left side 犭 is the animal (dog) radical, and 艮 gives the sound. Picture a snarling dog that will not back down, and you have 狠 (hěn): fierce and ruthless.
狠 describes harsh, ruthless people or actions, and also strong determination, as in 狠心 (hěnxīn) or 狠狠 (hěnhěn). 狠狠 often comes before a verb to mean doing something hard or with force. Example: 他狠狠地批评了我。(Tā hěnhěn de pīpíng le wǒ.) He criticized me harshly.
Common mistake: Learners often write 狠 when they mean the everyday adverb 很 (hěn, very), because they sound identical. 很 has the step radical 彳 and means "very", while 狠 has the dog radical 犭 and means "fierce".
Common words with 狠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
狠 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 狠
How many strokes are in 狠?
狠 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 狠 mean?
狠 (hěn) means ruthless; fierce; ferocious; determined; resolute; to harden (one's heart). A common word with it is 凶狠 (xiōnghěn), meaning "cruel; vicious".
How do you pronounce 狠?
狠 is pronounced hěn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 狠?
The radical of 狠 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 狠 under this radical.
Is 狠 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 狠 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 狠 always negative?
Not always. It can mean cruel, as in 狠毒 (hěndú), but it can also mean resolute or decisive. For example, 下狠心 (xià hěnxīn) means to make up your mind to do something difficult.
What is the difference between 凶狠 and 狠心?
凶狠 (xiōnghěn) describes a fierce, threatening manner or look, like a vicious person or animal. 狠心 (hěnxīn) is about being cold-hearted or hardening your heart, often toward people close to you.