How to Write 孱 (càn/chán) — Meaning “weak / frail”

Imagine a corpse (尸) lying down while three children (孨) jump on it — the corpse is too weak to move. This visual of a weak body helps you remember the meaning of frail or weak.

The top part 尸 should be narrow, and the three 子 below must be evenly spaced and not too large. A common mistake is making the 子 components too wide, which ruins the balance of the character.

孱 (càn) means weak or frail, while 孬 (nāo) means bad or cowardly. Visually, 孱 has 尸 on top and three 子 underneath, whereas 孬 is a combination of 不 (no) and 好 (good), meaning "not good."

孱 is mostly used in formal or literary contexts, often in words like 孱弱 (chán ruò, frail) and 孱头 (càn tóu, coward). It's not common in daily conversation but appears in classical texts and serious descriptions of weakness.

Common words containing 孱 include: 孱弱 (chán ruò) — frail / weak; 孱头 (càn tóu) — coward / weakling; 孱劣 (càn liè) — weak and inferior.