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狠

Mandarin · pinyin hěn

ruthless; fierce; ferocious
determined; resolute
to harden (one's heart)
old variant of 很 hěn

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狠: hěn · vicious, cruel; severely, extreme

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · hen3

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1character link6same-tone records1source reference

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

han2

Cantonese word readings for 狠. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

vicious; cruel
severely; extreme
(Wu) fierce; ferocious; threatening; unreasonable
(Wu) impressive; skilled; wise; deft; capable

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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