How to Write 狠 (hěn) — Meaning “Ruthless; cruel”

Imagine a dog (犭) that is very mean and stubborn (艮) — this dog is ruthless. You can also remember that the pinyin 'hěn' sounds like 'hen', but a hen is not cruel; picture a wolf instead.

The left radical 犭 has three strokes: a downward-left stroke, a hook, and another downward-left stroke. The right part 艮 has six strokes, ending with a dot; a common mistake is to forget that final dot or to make the hook too long.

狠 shares the 犭 radical with 犹, but its right side is 艮 (gèn) meaning 'stubborn', while 犹 has 尤 (yóu) meaning 'especially'. 状 has a different left radical 丬 (piece of wood) and right side 大 (big), meaning 'form' or 'state'.

狠 describes ruthless or cruel actions, as in 狠心 (heartless) or 凶狠 (fierce). It can also mean making a firm resolution, like 下狠心 (to steel oneself), which is not always negative but implies strong determination.

Common words containing 狠 include: 狠心 (hěn xīn) — Heartless; cruel; 凶狠 (xiōng hěn) — Ruthless; fierce; 下狠心 (xià hěn xīn) — to make a firm resolution; to steel oneself.