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慘
🇹🇼🇭🇰🇯🇵🇰🇷
惨
🇨🇳

wretched

HSK 10
Human →Emotions
cǎn
サン
みじ.め、いた.む、むご.い
참, 침
Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 參 represents the sound.
Components
Traditional (慘)
忄 heart (side)+ 參 participate =
慘 wretched
忄 Meaning component
xin heart (side)
heart
忄 is a component form of 心.
參 Phonetic component
participate
View phonetic series →
Simplified (惨)
忄 heart (side)+ 参 take =
惨 sad
忄 Meaning component
xin heart (side)
heart
忄 is a component form of 心.
参 Phonetic component
shēn take
variant of 參|参[shēn]
View phonetic series →
Notes
Similar Characters
忆 reflect (simp)忉 distressed忏 sins (simp)忕 habit忖 suppose忙 busy忡 a sad忤 insubordinate忧 grieved (simp)忪 tranquil快 fast忭 delighted忮 perverse忱 truth忸 blush忻 delightful忾 hatred (simp)怀 bosom (iii) (simp)怃 disappointed (simp)怄 annoyed (simp)
Historical Evolution
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Clerical
Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
惨
Regular
Modern
Chinese
惨 / 慘 [cǎn]
miserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; disastrous; tragic; dim; gloomy
Japanese
惨 さん 同音
adj-tadv-to appalling
Example Sentences
CHINESE WORDS (37)
悲惨 [bēi​cǎn] #4,046
miserable
惨重 [cǎn​zhòng] #14,314
disastrous
惨叫 [cǎn​jiào] #16,127
to scream
惨败 [cǎn​bài] #16,298
to suffer a crushing defeat
惨遭 [cǎn​zāo] #15,239
to suffer (defeat, death etc)
惨剧 [cǎn​jù] #12,600
tragedy
惨烈 [cǎn​liè] #20,460
bitter
惨不忍睹 [cǎn​bù​rěn​dǔ] #16,134
spectacle too horrible to endure (idiom); tragic sight
惨痛 [cǎn​tòng] #17,783
bitter
惨案 [cǎn​'àn] #19,378
massacre
27 more items
KOREAN WORDS (8)
비참
misery; wretchedness; distress
참경
terrible sight
참극
tragedy; disaster; atrocity
참변
disaster; tragedy
참사
disaster; tragedy
참상
disaster; tragedy
참패
crushing defeat; terrible defeat
참화
terrible disaster