很

很 U+5F88, 很 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5F88 ← 徇 [U+5F87] CJK Unified Ideographs 徉 → [U+5F89]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

很 (radical 60, 彳+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 竹人日女 (HOAV), four-corner 2723₂, composition ⿰彳艮)

References

• KangXi: page 366, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10093
• Dae Jaweon: page 687, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 822, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5F88

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		很

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (艮) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
艱	*krɯːn
齦	*kʰrɯːnʔ, *kʰɯːnʔ, *ŋɯn
眼	*ŋrɯːnʔ
蛝	*ɡrɯːn
限	*ɡrɯːnʔ
硍	*ɡrɯːnʔ
豤	*kʰɯːnʔ, *kʰɯːnʔ, *kʰuːn
詪	*ɡlɯːnʔ, *kɯːnʔ, *kɯːns
根	*kɯːn
跟	*kɯːn
珢	*kɯːn, *kɯːns, *ŋrɯn
艮	*kɯːns
茛	*kɯːns
墾	*kʰɯːnʔ
懇	*kʰɯːnʔ
垠	*ŋɯːn, *ŋrɯn, *ŋɯn
泿	*ŋɯːn, *ŋrɯn
痕	*ɡɯːn
拫	*ɡɯːn
鞎	*ɡɯːn
很	*ɡɯːnʔ
恨	*ɡɯːns
銀	*ŋrɯn
檭	*ŋrɯn

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡɯːnʔ): semantic 彳 + phonetic 艮 (OC *kɯːns).

Etymology

“Cruel (~ 狠); to disobey; to defy” > “very; quite” (since Yuan dynasty). Compare 蠻／蛮 (mán).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hěn (hen³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄣˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): han²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hàn
• Min Bei (KCR): hǎing
• Min Nan (POJ): hún / hín
• Wu (Wiktionary): hen (T2)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: hěn
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄣˇ
    • Wade–Giles: hên³
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heen
    • IPA ^(key): /xən²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: han²
    • Yale: hán
    • Cantonese Pinyin: han²
    • Guangdong Romanization: hen²
    • IPA ^(key): /hɐn³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hàn
    • Hakka Romanization System: hanˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: han²
    • IPA: /han¹¹/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: hǎing
    • IPA ^(key): /xaiŋ²¹/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hún
    • Tâi-lô: hún
    • Phofsit Daibuun: huon
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hun⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /hun⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hun⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hín
    • Tâi-lô: hín
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hien
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hin⁵³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: hen (T2)
    • IPA ^(key): /həɲ³⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: /ɦən^X/▼

Rime
Character	很
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	痕 (53)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	胡墾切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦənX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦənX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣənX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦənX/
Li Rong	/ɣənX/
Wang Li	/ɣənX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣənX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hèn

• Old Chinese▼

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡɯːnʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	很
Reading #	1/1
No.	3937
Phonetic component	艮
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	很
Old Chinese	/*ɡɯːnʔ/

Definitions

很

1. ^† to disobey; to defy
2. to try to one's utmost
3. ^† Alternative form of 狠 (hěn, “cruel; savage; inhumane”).
4. ^† struggle; dispute
5. very; rather; quite

   他很高興。 / 他很高兴。  ―  Tā hěn gāoxìng.  ―  He is very pleased.

   我很喜歡。 / 我很喜欢。  ―  Wǒ hěn xǐhuān.  ―  I like it very much.

   我喜歡得很。 / 我喜欢得很。  ―  Wǒ xǐhuān de hěn.  ―  I like it very much.

6. (especially before monosyllabic adjectives) (no meaning, see usage note)

   我很好。  ―  Wǒ hěn hǎo.  ―  I'm good. (no intensification)

Usage Notes

• Mandarin speakers have a strong tendency to avoid monosyllabic terms. In order to satisfy this restriction, 很 is added before monosyllabic adjectives without any actual meaning. Similarly, Chinese people with monosyllabic first names will usually be addressed by their full name, even by their parents.
• Such usage of 很 is not uncommon before other adjectives as well, to the point where forming a sentence without 很 may be perceived as very unnatural. Additionally, using an adjective as a predicate without 很 might carry notions of a comparative statement, e.g. '我好' could be interpreted as 'I am good [unlike some other person that was mentioned]'.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 很 (“very; quite”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		甚
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		非常、很、十分、太
Mandarin	Beijing	挺、很、倍兒
	Taiwan	很、挺
	Tianjin	挺、很
	Jinan	挺、楞
	Xi'an	很
	Wuhan	蠻、很
	Chengdu	很、好
	Yangzhou	蠻、稀、很
	Hefei	很
Cantonese	Guangzhou	好
	Hong Kong	好
	Taishan	好
	Yangjiang	好
Gan	Nanchang	蠻
Hakka	Meixian	好
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	當、已、還
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	蓋、盡、還
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	當、已、還
	Dongshi (Dabu)	當、已、還
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	當、已、還
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	足、真、實在
	Sabah	好
Jin	Taiyuan	很、挺
Min Bei	Jian'ou	真
Min Dong	Fuzhou	野、真
Min Nan	Xiamen	真、野、誠、有夠
	Quanzhou	真、野、誠、有夠
	Zhangzhou	盡、蓋、足、足範、有夠、出奇、極死
	Taipei	真、誠
	Kaohsiung	有夠、足、真、誠、蓋
	Tainan	有夠、足、真、誠、蓋
	Taichung	誠、蓋、足
	Hsinchu	真、誠
	Lukang	真、誠
	Sanxia	真、誠
	Yilan	有夠、足、誠、盡
	Kinmen	足、誠
	Magong	真、誠
	Penang	真、誠、真正
	Philippines (Manila)	野、真
	Chaozhou	過
Wu	Shanghai	蠻、老
	Suzhou	蠻
	Wenzhou	蠻、蒙、顯
Xiang	Changsha	很、蠻
	Shuangfeng	蠻

See also

• 太 (tài)

Compounds

• 傲很
• 很多 (hěnduō)

• 很少 (hěnshǎo)
• 很是

• 得很 (dehěn)
• 鬥很／斗很

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Japanese

Kanji

很

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• Go-on: ごん (gon)
• Kan-on: こん (kon)
• Kun: もとる (motoru, 很る)

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Korean

Hanja

很 • (heun) (hangeul 흔)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

很 (ngận, hẩn)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.