How to Write 悭 (qiān) — Meaning “stingy; miserly”

Imagine a heart (忄) that is as hard as a brick (坚). This hard-hearted person refuses to spend even a penny, so picture a brick stopping coins from leaving their pocket. The visual of a rock-hard heart makes the meaning of "stingy" easy to recall.

Write the left side 忄 first: dot, dot, then a long vertical stroke. On the right, write 坚 with 7 strokes: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Keep the left side narrow and the right side wider. A common mistake is writing the right side with an extra stroke or confusing the bottom of 坚 (which is 土, not 士).

怊 (chāo) means "sad" or "disappointed" and has the right side 召 (summon), while 怍 (zuò) means "ashamed" and has the right side 乍 (sudden). In contrast, 悭 means "stingy" and uses 坚 (firm). Visually, the right parts are distinct, and their meanings are unrelated to money or hardness.

悭 is not common in everyday speech and does not appear in the HSK word lists. It is mainly found in written or literary Chinese, such as in the word 悭吝 (qiān lìn, stingy) or the term 悭吝鬼 (qiān lìn guǐ, miser). A cultural note: calling someone a 悭吝鬼 is like calling them a "skinflint" or "Scrooge."

Common words containing 悭 include: 悭吝 (qiān lìn) — stingy; parsimonious; 悭钱 (qiān qián) — to save money; to be stingy with money; 悭吝鬼 (qiān lìn guǐ) — miser; skinflint.