甚 meaning and stroke order
Considerably; very, extremely; a great extent
How to write 甚, 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.
- 1
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- 9
Meaning of 甚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- excessive; undue
- to exceed; to be more than
- very; extremely
- (dialect) what; whatever (Taiwan pr. [shen2])
- variant of 什[shen2]
How 甚 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 甘 (sweet), shared by 3 characters on this site.
How to remember 甚
甚 is 甘 (gān, sweet) on top of 匹 (pǐ, a match or pair). Picture something so sweet that nothing can match it, and you get the idea of "extremely" or "too much."
In modern Mandarin 甚 is read shèn and mostly appears in set words like 甚至 (shènzhì, even) and formal phrases like 甚好 (shèn hǎo, very good). Example: 他忙得甚至忘了吃饭。(Tā máng de shènzhì wàng le chīfàn.) He was so busy that he even forgot to eat.
Common mistake: Learners often read 甚至 as shénzhì because they know 什么 (shénme). In 甚至 the tone is fourth, shèn. Also do not confuse 甚 with 其 (qí), which has a similar top but no 匹 underneath.
Common words with 甚
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
甚 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 甚
Learning 甚 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 甚
How many strokes are in 甚?
甚 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 甚 mean?
甚 (shén) means considerably; very, extremely; a great extent. A common word with it is 甚至 (shènzhì), meaning "even; so much so that".
How do you pronounce 甚?
甚 is pronounced shén, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 甚?
The radical of 甚 is 甘, which carries the idea of "sweet". Dictionaries list 甚 under this radical.
Is 甚 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 甚 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 甚 sometimes read shén?
Shén is a variant reading of 什, as in the older spelling 甚么 for 什么 (shénme, what). You will see it in older texts and some dialect writing, but standard modern Mandarin writes 什么.
How is 甚至 different from 连...都?
Both can mean "even." 甚至 often links clauses and adds a further, more extreme point, while 连...都 (lián...dōu) wraps around one item, as in 连他都知道 (lián tā dōu zhīdào, even he knows). They can also be used together: 甚至连他都知道.