Meaning of 惨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- miserable
- wretched
- cruel
- inhuman
- disastrous
- tragic
- dim
- gloomy
How to use 惨
惨 describes something tragic, terrible, or pitiful, and in everyday speech it often means "really bad" or "rough". It also works as a degree complement after a verb, as in 累惨了 (lèi cǎn le, totally worn out). Example: 他这次考试考得很惨。(Tā zhè cì kǎoshì kǎo de hěn cǎn.) He did terribly on this exam.
惨 has the heart radical 忄 on the left and 参 (cān) on the right. Picture a heart pierced by the three slanting strokes at the bottom of 参, like tears or cuts, and you get a heart that feels miserable.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 惨 (cǎn) with 参 (cān), which has no heart radical and means "to take part", as in 参加 (cānjiā). Keep the third tone for 惨 and the first tone for 参.
惨 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
惨 cǎn · miserable · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 惨.
| 悲惨 | bēicǎn | miserable; tragic |
| 惨痛 | cǎntòng | bitter; painful |
| 惨重 | cǎnzhòng | disastrous |
| 惨白 | cǎnbái | deathly pale |
| 惨剧 | cǎnjù | tragedy; calamity |
| 凄惨 | qīcǎn | plaintive; mournful |
| 惨遭 | cǎnzāo | to suffer (defeat, death etc) |
| 惨死 | cǎnsǐ | to die tragically; to meet with a violent death |
| 惨不忍睹 | cǎnbùrěndǔ | lit. so horrible that one cannot bear to look (idiom); fig. miserable; horrendous; atrocio |
| 惨败 | cǎnbài | to suffer a crushing defeat |
| 惨烈 | cǎnliè | bitter; desperate |
| 惨叫 | cǎnjiào | to scream; blood-curdling screech |
Questions about 惨
What does 惨 mean?
惨 (cǎn) means "miserable; wretched" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 惨?
惨 is made of 1 character: 惨 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 惨 an HSK word?
Yes. 惨 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 惨 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 惨 is written 慘.
What does 太惨了 mean in casual Chinese?
太惨了 (tài cǎn le) means "that's so awful" or "poor thing". People say it to react to bad luck, from a serious accident to a friend losing their phone.
How is 惨 different from 悲惨?
悲惨 (bēicǎn) is more formal and serious, used for tragic lives, events, or fates. 惨 alone is more flexible and colloquial, and can describe anything from a disaster to a bad test score.