狠(hěn)

HSK 69 strokes

ruthless

Print a 狠 worksheet PDFPractice writing 狠

Stroke order animation

Character information

Pinyin
hěn
Meaning
ruthless; fierce; ferocious; determined; resolute; to harden (one's heart); old variant of 很[hen3]
Strokes
9
HSK level
HSK 6
Traditional
Same

Origin & structure

Where 狠 comes from and how its parts fit together.

Phonetic-semantic compound⿰犭艮

In this compound, the meaning comes from 犭 (dog); 艮 supplies the sound.

One part carries the meaning, the other suggests the sound.

Made of

犭quǎn艮gèn

Parts are arranged left to right.

How to write 狠 step by step

9 strokes — each frame adds one stroke, shown in dark ink over the lighter ones.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Words with 狠

Common words using 狠 — tap any character to open its stroke-order page.

xiōng凶hěn狠
HSK 7-9

variant of 凶狠[xiong1 hen3]

Open 凶狠 page →
è恶hěn狠

fierce and vicious

Open 恶狠 page →
hěn狠jìn劲

to exert all one's force; all-out effort; CL:股[gu3]

Open 狠劲 page →
hěn狠xīn心

callous; heartless

Open 狠心 page →
hěn狠dú毒

vicious

Open 狠毒 page →
hěn狠hěn狠

resolutely

Open 狠狠 page →
è恶hěn狠hěn狠

very fierce

Open 恶狠狠 page →
xīn心hěn狠shǒu手là辣

(idiom) vicious; merciless

Open 心狠手辣 page →

Related characters

More HSK 6 characters

丧串乌乳予井亡仓

From 狠’s common words

凶恶劲心毒手辣

Ready to master 狠?

Trace 狠 stroke by stroke in the online practice tool, or turn it into a printable worksheet PDF with Tianzige practice grids, pinyin, and stroke-order breakdowns.

Practice 狠 onlineGenerate worksheet PDFBrowse all of HSK 6 →