TongTong
Sign in

贪婪 (tān lán) — greedy, avaricious

Definition

A strong, negative adjective for someone who craves wealth, power, or possessions without limit. Broader than 吝啬 (stingy about spending); more about insatiable desire than 贪吃 (gluttony for food).

adjective
greedyavaricious

Examples

  • 贪婪。
    Tā yīn wèi tài guò tān lán ér shī qù le péng you.
    He lost friends because he was too greedy.
  • 贪婪。
    tān lán De shāng rén wǎng wǎng bú huì chéng xìn jīng yíng.
    Greedy merchants often don't operate with integrity.
  • 贪婪。
    Nǐ yīng gāi kòng zhì zì jǐ de tān lán zhī xīn.
    You should control your own greed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

贪tāngreedy
婪lángreedy

贪 and 婪 both mean greedy, so the word expresses insatiable desire.

Characters in this word

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 貪; 贪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney
Sound part声符shēngfú
今
今jīn貪tān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貪 places 今 (open mouth) above 貝 (money); 今 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. 贪 is the simplified shorthand.

Open 贪 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín婪lán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

婪 is built from 女, a woman, and 林 (lín), which gives the sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.