贪

to have a voracious desire for; to covet; greedy; corrupt

8 strokes Dict coverage rank #1,607 U+8D2A

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

贝 (semantic, “money”) + 今 (phonetic, jīn)

components: 今贝

greedy · Heisig RSH #2607

clock + shells

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 今

Siblings built with the same phonetic component 今 (jīn) — compare how they read:

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
今 sound component	jīn	modern, current; today, now
含	hán	to hold in the mouth; to contain; to cherish
吟	yín	to sing, to hum; to recite; a type of poetry
黔	qián	black; the Guizhou province
岑	cén	steep, precipitous; peak
矜	jīn	to pity, to sympathize, to feel sorry for
衾	qīn	quilt, coverlet
妗	jìn	mother's brother's wife
侌	yīn	old variant of 陰\|阴[yin1]
芩	qín	salt-marsh plant
衿	jīn	collar, lapel
钤	qián	lock, latch; to stamp, to seal

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
贪小失大	tān xiǎo shī dà	penny wise and pound foolish (idiom)
贪心不足	tān xīn bù zú	avaricious and insatiable (idiom); greedy and never satisfied
贪天之功	tān tiān zhī gōng	to claim credit for other people's achievements (idiom)
起早贪黑	qǐ zǎo tān hēi	to be industrious, rising early and going to bed late
好酒贪杯	hào jiǔ tān bēi	fond of the bottle (idiom)
贪生怕死	tān shēng pà sǐ	greedy for life, afraid of death (idiom); craven and cowardly; clinging abjectly to life; …
贪心	tān xīn	greedy
贪得无厌	tān dé wú yàn	avaricious and insatiable (idiom); greedy and never satisfied
贪吃鬼	tān chī guǐ	glutton; chowhound
贪色	tān sè	greedy for sex; given to lust for women
贪玩儿	tān wán r	erhua variant of 貪玩\|贪玩[tan1 wan2]
反贪	fǎn tān	anti-corruption (policy)
贪嘴	tān zuǐ	gluttonous
贪求无厌	tān qiú wú yàn	insatiably greedy (idiom)
贪食	tān shí	gluttonous; greedy
贪图	tān tú	to covet; to seek (riches, fame)
反贪腐	fǎn tān fǔ	anti-corruption
贪官	tān guān	corrupt official; grasping functionary; greedy mandarin
贪吃	tān chī	gluttonous; voracious
贪污腐化	tān wū fǔ huà	(idiom) corruption