How to Write 谦 (qiān) — Meaning “humble; modest”

Imagine a humble person saying "I'm just one among many" (兼 sounds like 'join'), so the speech radical 讠 reminds you that modesty is shown through words. Picture someone speaking softly while joining a group without boasting.

Write the left radical 讠 first with two strokes (a dot and a rising line). Then the right part 兼: start with the top horizontal line, then the two verticals, then the middle horizontal, and finish with four dots. A common mistake is making the left radical too large; it should be narrow and aligned with the center of the right component.

谦 (humble) has the speech radical 讠 plus 兼 (combine), while 请 (please) has 讠 plus 青 (green/clear). 诸 (various) uses 讠 plus 者 (person). Visually, 谦's right side has multiple horizontal strokes and dots, whereas 请 has a simple 青 and 诸 has 者.

谦 appears in common words like 谦虚 (modest) and 谦让 (yield politely). In Chinese culture, humility is highly valued, so 谦 is often used in self-introductions to show respect, such as saying 我谦虚地说 (I humbly say) before a compliment.

Common words containing 谦 include: 谦虚 (qiān xū) — modest; humble; 谦让 (qiān ràng) — to yield modestly; to give way; 谦辞 (qiān cí) — humble expression; self-deprecatory language.