How to Write 谩 (mán/màn) — Meaning “to deceive; to insult”

Imagine a person speaking (讠) slowly (曼 sounds like 'man' in English, but think of 'man' drawing out words). When someone speaks in a slow, drawn-out way while lying or insulting you, that's 谩 — deceptive or insulting speech.

The right side 曼 has 11 strokes; start with 曰 (sun) at the top, then write 冖 (cover) below it, and finally 又 (hand) at the bottom. A common mistake is to make the 冖 too wide or to forget the final dot inside 曰 — keep the whole character balanced and not too tall.

谩 means to deceive or insult, while 谋 (móu) means to plan or scheme, and 谌 (chén) means sincere or honest. Visually, 谩 uses 曼 on the right, 谋 uses 某 (mǒu), and 谌 uses 甚 (shèn); they share the speech radical but have different right-side components and meanings.

谩 is not in the HSK vocabulary and is less common in everyday speech, but it appears in formal or literary contexts, especially in the word 谩骂 (màn mà, to hurl abuse). It can also mean 'deceptive words' as in 谩语 (mán yǔ, lies); note the tone change from mán to màn in compounds.

Common words containing 谩 include: 谩骂 (màn mà) — to hurl abuse; to revile; 谩辞 (mán cí) — insulting language; deceptive words; 谩语 (mán yǔ) — deceptive talk; lies.