谦 (qiān) — (bound form) modest, humble | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

谦 (qiān) is a bound morpheme meaning 'modest, humble' — it always attaches to a following word (e.g. 谦虚, 谦让, 谦卑) and does not stand alone.

bound form

modesthumble

，。
Tā hěn qiān xū, cóng bú xuàn yào zì jǐ de chéng jiù.
He is very modest and never shows off his achievements.
，，。
Zài zhēng lùn zhōng, tā zhǔ dòng qiān ràng, bì miǎn le chōng tū.
In the argument, he modestly gave way and avoided conflict.
，。
Zhè wèi xué zhě tài dù qiān bēi, shēn shòu xué shēng zūn jìng.
This scholar has a humble attitude and is deeply respected by students.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most 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 謙; 谦 is its simplified writing.

言兼謙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

兼

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 謙 combines 言 (speech) with 兼 as a sound part; the simplified 谦 is a shorthand.

Appears in