很
Tap the pinyin to hear it
very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element)
- HSK 3.0
- Level 1
- Old HSK
- Level 1
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 彳 +6
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 很
- Common rank
- #4,403
- Unicode
- U+5F88
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 很 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
彳 meaning “step” + 艮 sound ()
Components 彳 艮
How to remember it
very · Heisig RSH #1144
queue + silver
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 很
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不很 | not very | |
| 得很 | (after an adjective) very | |
| 很是 | (formal) very; quite; deeply (usu. followed by a two-syllable adjective or verb) |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 艮 — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 艮 sound part | blunt; tough, chewy | |
| 眼 | eyelet, hole, opening | |
| 根 | root, basis, foundation | |
| 银 | silver; cash, money, wealth | |
| 退 | to retreat, to step back, to withdraw | |
| 限 | boundary, limit, line | |
| 恨 | to dislike, to hate, to resent | |
| 跟 | heel; to accompany, to follow; with | |
| 痕 | scar, mark; vestige, trace | |
| 龈 | gums | |
| 狠 | vicious, fierce, cruel | |
| 垦 | to cultivate, to farm; to reclaim | |
| 恳 | sincere, earnest, cordial | |
| 垠 | boundary, river bank | |
| 哏 | the clamor of an argument; funny; odd | |
| 茛 | ranunculus | |
| 裉 | a garment seam |