慎

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careful; cautious

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Formation & memory

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Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

忄 meaning “heart” + 真 sound ( zhēn )

Components 忄真

prudent · Heisig RSH #1802

state of mind + 真 true

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
一着不慎，满盘皆输	yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū	One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
慎重其事	shèn zhòng qí shì	to treat a matter with due consideration (idiom)
石原慎太郎	Shí yuán Shèn tài láng	Ishihara Shintarō (1932-), Japanese author and politician, governor of Tokyo 1999-2012
审慎行事	shěn shèn xíng shì	to act prudently; steering a cautious course
以慎为键	yǐ shèn wéi jiàn	to take caution as the key (idiom); to proceed very carefully
慎终追远	shèn zhōng zhuī yuǎn	to pay careful attention to one's parents' funerary rites
不慎	bù shèn	incautious; inattentive
慎重	shèn zhòng	cautious; careful; prudent
慎言	shèn yán	to speak cautiously; to guard one's tongue
慎入	shèn rù	keep away!; proceed with caution!
小心谨慎	xiǎo xīn jǐn shèn	cautious and timid (idiom); prudent; careful
慎密	shèn mì	cautious; with meticulous care
慎独	shèn dú	to preserve a proper behavior in private life
审慎	shěn shèn	prudent; cautious
许慎	Xǔ Shèn	Xu Shen (-147) the compiler of the original Han dynasty dictionary Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字\|说文解字…
戒慎	jiè shèn	vigilant; cautious
肃慎	Sù shèn	ancient ethnic group of northeast frontier of China
谨慎	jǐn shèn	cautious; prudent
恪慎	kè shèn	careful; reverently

Characters sharing the sound component 真 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
真 sound part	zhēn	real, actual, true, genuine
镇	zhèn	calm, composed; to control, to suppress
颠	diān	peak, summit, top; to upset
填	tián	to fill, to pad, to stuff
嗔	chēn	to be angry at, to rebuke, to scold
滇	diān	Yunnan province
缜	zhěn	fine, detailed; closely woven
禛	zhēn	to receive blessings
瑱	tiàn	a jade earring
瞋	chēn	to glare
鬒	zhěn	glossy black hair
稹	zhěn	to accumulate