贍 meaning and stroke order
Rich, elegant; to support, to provide for
How to write 贍, stroke by stroke
20 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 贍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to support
- to provide for
How 贍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
貝 gives the meaning and 詹 hints at the sound.
Radical: 貝 (sea shell), shared by 62 characters on this site.
How to remember 贍
贍 combines 貝 (shell, an old symbol of money) with 詹 (zhān), which gives the sound. Picture someone handing over shells of money to support their family.
Today 贍 (simplified 赡) appears mainly in the word 赡养 (shànyǎng), which means to support someone financially, especially elderly parents or dependents. It sounds formal and legal. Example: 子女有赡养父母的义务。(Zǐnǚ yǒu shànyǎng fùmǔ de yìwù.) Children have a duty to support their parents.
Common mistake: Learners often read 贍 as zhān because of its phonetic part 詹, but the correct reading is shàn with a falling tone. Also do not mix it up with 瞻 (zhān, to look up at), which has 目 (eye) instead of 貝.
Common words with 贍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 贍養 | shànyǎng | to support; to provide support for | HSK 7-9 |
| 贍養費 | shànyǎngfèi | alimony; child support |
Questions about 贍
How many strokes are in 贍?
贍 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 贍 mean?
贍 (shàn) means rich, elegant; to support, to provide for. A common word with it is 赡养 (shànyǎng), meaning "to support; to provide support for".
How do you pronounce 贍?
贍 is pronounced shàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 贍?
The radical of 贍 is 貝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 贍 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 贍?
贍 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 赡, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 赡养 and 抚养?
赡养 (shànyǎng) usually means supporting elders or dependents, such as adult children caring for parents. 抚养 (fǔyǎng) means raising and caring for children. In law, parents 抚养 children and children 赡养 parents.
Can 贍 be used alone as a word?
In modern Chinese it rarely stands alone. You will mostly see it in fixed words like 赡养 and 赡养费 (shànyǎngfèi, alimony or child support). Its older sense of rich or abundant survives mainly in literary phrases.