残 (cán) — to damage, to injure, to destroy; to remain, to survive
Definition
残 covers two distinct senses: 'to damage/injure' (as in 残害) and 'to remain/survive' (as in 残存). The damage sense overlaps with 毁灭 but is less absolute; for the "remain" sense, 残留 and 剩余 are more common in modern Chinese.
verb
to damageto injureto destroyto remainto survive
Examples
- 。Zhàn zhēng cán hài le xǔ duō wú gū de rén.The war harmed many innocent people.
- 。Zhè ge cūn zi hái cán cún zhe gǔ lǎo de xí sú.This village still preserves ancient customs.
- 残。Nà cì shì gù ràng tā cán le yì tiáo tuǐ.That accident caused him to lose a leg.
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 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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