Meaning of 敢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to dare
- daring
- (polite) may I venture
How to use 敢
敢 works like a helping verb and comes right before the main verb. It is very common in the negative 不敢 (bù gǎn), meaning "not dare to." Example: 我不敢一个人去。(Wǒ bù gǎn yí ge rén qù.) I don't dare to go alone.
Look at the right side of 敢 (gǎn): 攵 is a hand holding a stick, ready to act. Picture someone gripping a stick and stepping forward when others hold back. That is daring.
Common mistake: Learners often put 敢 after the verb or use it with a noun alone, as in 我敢狗. It needs a verb after it, as in 我不敢摸狗 (Wǒ bù gǎn mō gǒu), I don't dare to touch the dog. Also keep the third tone gǎn separate from 感 (gǎn, to feel), which sounds the same but has the heart radical 心 at the bottom.
敢 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.
敢 gǎn · to dare · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 敢.
| 勇敢 | yǒnggǎn | brave; courageous |
| 不敢当 | bùgǎndāng | lit. I dare not (accept the honor); fig. I don't deserve your praise; you flatter me |
| 敢于 | gǎnyú | to have the courage to do sth; to dare to |
| 竟敢 | jìnggǎn | to have the impertinence; to have the cheek to |
| 敢情 | gǎnqing | actually; as it turns out |
| 胆敢 | dǎngǎn | to dare (negative connotation); to have the audacity to (do sth) |
| 敢死队 | gǎnsǐduì | suicide squad; kamikaze unit |
Questions about 敢
What does 敢 mean?
敢 (gǎn) means "to dare; daring" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 敢?
敢 is made of 1 character: 敢 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 敢 an HSK word?
Yes. 敢 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I reply politely when someone praises me in Chinese?
You can say 不敢当 (bùgǎndāng), which literally means "I dare not accept." It is a modest way to say "you flatter me." It sounds a bit formal, so in casual talk 哪里哪里 (nǎlǐ nǎlǐ) is also common.
What is the difference between 敢 and 敢于?
敢 (gǎn) is everyday and works in both positive and negative sentences, like 我不敢说. 敢于 (gǎnyú) is more formal and usually positive, praising courage, as in 敢于面对困难 (gǎnyú miànduì kùnnan), to have the courage to face difficulties. You rarely hear 不敢于 in speech.