惨 (cǎn) — tragic, disastrous, miserable; cruel, inhuman
Definition
惨 paints a scene — 'tragic, wretched' situations or pale, pitiful states (脸色惨白). For cruelty as a deliberate quality, use 残酷 or 毒 instead.
adjective
tragicdisastrousmiserablecruelinhuman
Examples
- 惨。Zhè cì dì zhèn tài cǎn le.This earthquake was too tragic.
- 惨。Tā duì dài shǒu xià de fāng shì hěn cǎn rěn.The way he treats his subordinates is very cruel.
- 。Tā shēng bìng hòu liǎn sè cǎn bái.After getting sick, his complexion became very pale.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 慘; 惨 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
參
參cān慘cǎn
Same sound today
The traditional form 慘 puts 心 (heart) with 參 as its sound part. The simplified 惨 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical form.
Appears in
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