俭
Tap the pinyin to hear it
(bound form) frugal; thrifty
- HSK 3.0
- Level 7–9
- Old HSK
- Level 6
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 人 +7
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 儉
- Common rank
- #1,914
- Unicode
- U+4FED
Sound it out + + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 俭 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
亻 meaning “person” + 佥 sound ()
Components 亻 佥
How to remember it
thrifty · Heisig RSH #2861
人 person + hootenanny
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 俭
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 省吃俭用 | (idiom) to live frugally | |
| 克勤克俭 | (idiom) industrious and frugal | |
| 勤工俭学 | to work part-time while studying; work-study program | |
| 丰俭由人 | fancy or simple according to one's budget | |
| 自奉俭约 | to live frugally | |
| 勤俭节约 | (idiom) diligent and thrifty | |
| 勤俭务实 | hardworking, thrifty and pragmatic | |
| 勤俭建国 | to build up the country through thrift and hard work | |
| 俭学 | to be frugal so that one can pay for one's education | |
| 克俭 | thrifty; frugal | |
| 勤俭持家 | hardworking and thrifty in running one's household | |
| 俭用 | to economize; to be frugal | |
| 由俭入奢易，由奢入俭难 | (idiom) it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance; the reverse is not so easy | |
| 节俭 | frugal; economical | |
| 俭素 | thrifty and plain | |
| 俭约 | frugal; economical; thrifty | |
| 俭以养廉 | (idiom) frugality makes honesty | |
| 温良恭俭 | temperate, kind, courteous and restrained | |
| 俭腹 | lacking in knowledge; ignorant | |
| 自奉甚俭 | (idiom) to allow oneself few comforts or pleasures |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 佥 — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 佥 sound part | all, together, unanimous | |
| 脸 | face, cheek; reputation | |
| 险 | narrow pass, strategic point | |
| 检 | to check, to examine, to inspect | |
| 验 | to examine, to inspect, to test, to verify | |
| 剑 | sword, dagger, saber | |
| 签 | to sign, to endorse; a note, a slip of paper | |
| 敛 | to collect, to extort | |
| 睑 | eyelid | |
| 捡 | to pick up, to gather, to collect | |
| 殓 | to dress a corpse for burial | |
| 硷 | alkaline, alkali, lye, salt | |
| 莶 | vine | |
| 猃 | long-snouted dog | |
| 裣 | draw one's hands into sleeve |