险 (xiǎn) — (adjective) dangerous, perilous; (adjective) risky; (adverb) almost, barely; narrowly
Definition
险 covers two ideas: as an adjective, 'dangerous/risky' (similar to 危险 but rarer and more literary); as an adverb, 'narrowly, almost not' — distinct from 仅/仅仅 ('only, merely').
adjective
dangerousperilousrisky
adverb
almostbarelynarrowly
Examples
- 险，。Zhè tiáo shān lù fēi cháng xiǎn, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.This mountain road is very dangerous; be careful when driving.
- ，。Tā xiǎn shèng duì shǒu, yíng dé le bǐ sài.He narrowly defeated his opponent and won the match.
- 险，。Zhè ge jì huà tài xiǎn le, wǒ men zuì hǎo zài xiǎng xiǎng.This plan is too risky; we'd better think again.
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 險; 险 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān險
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 險 pairs 阝, written in full as 阜, with 僉, which gives the sound; the simplified 险 is a shorthand.
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