The character 谦 — “modest”: how to write it and what it means

谦
qiān

modest

12 strokes · HSK 6

The Chinese character 谦 is read qiān and means “modest”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 谦

谦 has 12 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.

To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 谦, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 谦 is made of

On the left, 讠 “speech”: modest words. On the right, 兼 jiān hints at the reading.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 谦

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 谦?

谦 has 12 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.

What does 谦 mean?

谦 means “modest”. It appears in 谦虚 (“modest”).

How do you pronounce 谦?

谦 is read qiān. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 谦 have?

12 strokes.

← 爆 explode朴 simple →

More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.

Write 谦 yourself

In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free