How to Write 谵 (zhān) — Meaning “delirious talk”

Imagine a person speaking (讠) while standing on a dangerous high place (厃), babbling eight (八) crazy ideas — this pictures delirious, uncontrolled talk. The sound is like "Jan" so you can think of someone named Jan who talks nonsense when sick.

Write the left radical 讠 first with two strokes, then the right side 詹 from top to bottom: first the 厃 part (3 strokes), then 八 (2 strokes), then 言 (7 strokes). Keep the left side narrow and the right side vertically stacked, and be careful not to make the 八 too wide or disconnected.

谵 (zhān) means delirious talk, 谨 (jǐn) means careful or cautious, and 谩 (màn) means to deceive or insult. Visually, 谵 has the right component 詹 (danger + eight + speech), 谨 has 堇, and 谩 has 曼 — so the different right parts change both meaning and appearance.

谵 is mainly used in medical or formal contexts, such as 谵妄 (delirium) and 谵语 (delirious speech), often describing symptoms of high fever or mental disturbance. It is not common in daily conversation and carries a serious, clinical tone, especially in traditional Chinese medicine.

Common words containing 谵 include: 谵语 (zhān yǔ) — delirious speech; ravings; 谵妄 (zhān wàng) — delirium; 狂谵 (kuáng zhān) — Delirious or raving..