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兼

Tap the pinyin to hear it

double; twice; simultaneous; holding two or more (official) posts at the same time

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Old HSK
Level 5
Strokes
10
Radical
八 +8
Structure
Top–bottom 上下
Traditional
兼
Common rank
#1,711
Unicode
U+517C

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 兼 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A hand holding two sheafs of grain 禾

Components 丷 彐 禾 ×2

How to remember it

double · Heisig RSH #2215

animal horns + rake

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 兼

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

WordPinyinMeaning
兼而有之 jiān ér yǒu zhī to have both (at the same time)
不兼容性 bù jiān róng xìng incompatibility
兼济天下 jiān jì tiān xià (idiom) to make everyone's lives better
兼善天下 jiān shàn tiān xià (idiom) to work for the common good beyond one's own interests
内外兼修 nèi wài jiān xiū (of a person) beautiful inside and out
日夜兼程 rì yè jiān chéng to travel day and night
电磁兼容性 diàn cí jiān róng xìng electromagnetic compatibility
兼听则明，偏信则暗 jiān tīng zé míng , piān xìn zé àn listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; heed only one side and you will remain i…
才兼文武 cái jiān wén wǔ talent in both military and civil field (idiom)
鱼与熊掌不可兼得 yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Menciu…
品学兼优 pǐn xué jiān yōu excelling both in morals and studies (idiom); top marks for studies and for behavior (at s…
兼容性 jiān róng xìng compatibility
德才兼备 dé cái jiān bèi (idiom) possessing both integrity and talent
司兼导 sī jiān dǎo driver-guide
兼有 jiān yǒu to combine; to have both
兼容并包 jiān róng bìng bāo to include and monopolize many things; all-embracing
相互兼容 xiāng hù jiān róng mutually compatible
公私兼顾 gōng sī jiān gù to adequately take into account both public and private interests
恩威兼施 ēn wēi jiān shī to employ both kindness and severity (idiom)
身兼 shēn jiān holding two jobs simultaneously

Sound family

These characters use 兼 as their sound component — compare how they read.

CharacterPinyinMeaning
兼 sound part jiān both, and; at the same time; to unite, to combine
嫌 xián to hate, to detest; to criticize; to suspect
谦 qiān humble, modest
赚 zhuàn to earn, to profit, to make money
歉 qiàn deficient, lacking; to apologize, to regret, to be sorry
蒹 jiān common reed; Phragmites communis
鹣 jiān phoenix; fabulous mythical bird
慊 qiè satisfied, content
缣 jiān fine silk