狠
Character learning workspace

hěn · vicious, fierce, cruel

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

HSK 3.0 · Level 6Frequency #3832
Watch · inspect · write

Learn every stroke in 狠

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 狠 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Character anatomy

Understand the reusable parts

The decomposition shows how the visual pieces fit together, not necessarily the character’s historical origin.

Writing notes

Shape and proportion

9Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Left-rightCharacter structure

Keep the left side compact and leave enough room for the right side.

犭Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 狠 writing sheet

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 狠

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

hěnWords pronounced hěn
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Example sentences

Notice where 狠 sits in each complete thought.

Nǐ zěn me néng rú cǐ hěn dú?你怎么能如此狠毒?

How can you be so cruel?

Source: Tatoeba #4144653 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Lǎo shī bǎ xué shēng hěn hěn dì mà le yí dùn.老師把學生狠狠地罵了一頓。

The teacher gave his pupils a stern telling-off.

Source: Tatoeba #488485 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Lǎo shī hěn hěn dì chì zé le xué shēng mén yí dùn.老師狠狠地斥責了學生們一頓。

The teacher gave his pupils a tongue-lashing.

Source: Tatoeba #13573439 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Nǐ hěn xìng gǎn.你狠性感。

You are very sexy.

Source: Tatoeba #791674 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Jīn tiān rè dé hěn.今天热得狠。

It's very hot today.

Source: Tatoeba #373364 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 狠 in context

  1. Say hěn, then recall the core meaning: vicious, fierce, cruel.
  2. Write all 9 strokes while keeping the left-right balanced.
  3. Use it in 凶狠 (xiōng hěn), meaning “cruel”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 狠 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.