Meaning of 懒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- lazy
- variant of 懶|懒[lan3]
How to use 懒
懒 (lǎn) describes a person who avoids effort, and it often appears in compounds like 懒得 (lǎnde) and 偷懒 (tōulǎn). 懒得 is very common in speech for not feeling like doing something. Example: 我今天懒得做饭。 (Wǒ jīntiān lǎnde zuòfàn.) I don't feel like cooking today.
懒 is made of the heart radical 忄 on the left and 赖 (lài, to rely on) on the right. A heart that just wants to rely on others instead of working is a lazy heart.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 懒 (lǎn) with 赖 (lài), which has the same right side but no heart radical and means to rely on or to blame. Also keep the third tone in lǎn and do not read it as fourth tone like lài.
懒 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.
懒 lǎn · lazy · 16 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 懒.
Questions about 懒
What does 懒 mean?
懒 (lǎn) means "lazy" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 懒?
懒 is made of 1 character: 懒 (16 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 懒 an HSK word?
Yes. 懒 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 懒 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 懒 is written 懶.
Is calling someone 懒 rude?
It can sound critical, like calling someone lazy in English. Between friends it is often teasing, and 懒虫 (lǎnchóng) is a playful way to say lazybones.
What is the difference between 懒 and 懒惰?
懒 is short and used in everyday speech, as in 他很懒 (tā hěn lǎn). 懒惰 (lǎnduò) means the same thing but sounds more formal and written, so it fits essays or serious criticism.