罕 meaning and stroke order
Rare, scarce; surname
How to write 罕, stroke by stroke
7 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
Meaning of 罕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- rare
How 罕 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. An empty 干 fishing net ⺳; 干 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: ⺳ (net), shared by 3 characters on this site.
How to remember 罕
Picture a fishing net ⺳ on top of 干 (gān), which can mean dry or empty. You pull up the net and it is empty, because fish here are rare: 罕 (hǎn).
罕 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in words like 罕见 (hǎnjiàn) and 罕有 (hǎnyǒu), which sound fairly formal. Example: 这种鸟非常罕见。(Zhè zhǒng niǎo fēicháng hǎnjiàn.) This kind of bird is very rare.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom part as 千 or 于 instead of 干. The top stroke of 干 is flat, with no slanted stroke like in 千 and no hook like in 于. Also keep the tone a third tone, hǎn, not hàn as in 汉 (hàn).
Common words with 罕
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
罕 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 罕
How many strokes are in 罕?
罕 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 罕 mean?
罕 (hǎn) means rare, scarce; surname. A common word with it is 罕见 (hǎnjiàn), meaning "rare; rarely seen".
How do you pronounce 罕?
罕 is pronounced hǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 罕?
The radical of 罕 is ⺳, which carries the idea of "net". Dictionaries list 罕 under this radical.
Is 罕 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 罕 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 稀罕 mean in everyday speech?
Besides meaning rare, 稀罕 (xīhan) is used colloquially to mean to value or care about something. People often say 谁稀罕 (shéi xīhan), meaning roughly "who cares about that," to show they are not impressed. Note the second syllable is usually light in tone.
What is the difference between 罕见 and 少见?
Both mean rarely seen. 罕见 (hǎnjiàn) is more formal and stronger, common in news and writing, for example 罕见的暴雨 (a rare rainstorm). 少见 (shǎojiàn) is more casual and used in daily conversation.