How to Write 甚 (shèn) — Meaning “very; extremely; what”

Imagine a very sweet candy that is so good you say '甚好' (very good). The top part 甘 looks like a smiling mouth enjoying sweetness, and the bottom part can be thought of as 'even more' — so the whole character means 'extremely sweet' or just 'very'. This visual link helps you recall both the shape and meaning.

Start with the top radical 甘: write the horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes, then the middle horizontal, and finally the bottom horizontal. Then add the lower part: a vertical stroke, a left-falling stroke, and a right-falling stroke with a dot. A common mistake is making the lower part too wide or forgetting the final dot — keep it compact and centered below 甘.

甚 (very) has the radical 甘 on top and a distinct lower part, while 甜 (sweet) adds the component 舌 (tongue) below 甘, meaning 'sweet to the tongue'. 甙 is a rare chemical term with a different bottom structure. Focus on the bottom shape: 甚 has a unique '匕'-like form, whereas 甜 clearly uses '舌'.

甚 is most common in the word 甚至 (even, so much so that) to emphasize an extreme example. It also appears in formal or literary phrases like 甚好 (very good) or 甚少 (very few). While not used in casual speech as often as 很, it adds a classical or strong nuance, similar to 'exceedingly' in English.

Common words containing 甚 include: 甚至 (shèn zhì) — even; so much so that; 甚好 (shèn hǎo) — very good; excellent; 甚少 (shèn shǎo) — very little; very few; rarely.