馋 (chán): greedy
馋 (chán) is a Chinese character meaning “greedy.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 饣 (phonetic) and 兔 (structural). It ranks #2969 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 馋 eat. Its radical form 饣 (eat) appears in many related characters such as 饭 (fàn, meal, rice), 饿 (è, hungry), 馆 (guǎn, restaurant, hall).
Definitions
- greedy
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticeat
Stroke Order
Practice writing 馋 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 馋嘴noun | chán zuǐ | gluttonous |
| 解馋verb | jiě chán | to satisfy one's craving |
| 眼馋verb | yǎn chán | to covet |
| 馋涎欲滴phrase | chán xián yù dī | lit. to drool with desire (idiom) |
| 馋人 | chán rén | to make one's mouth water |
| 眼馋肚饱 | yǎn chán dù bǎo | to have eyes bigger than one's belly (idiom) |
| 馋涎欲垂 | chán xián yù chuí | see 饞涎欲滴|馋涎欲滴 |
| 嘴馋adjective | zuǐ chán | gluttonous |
| 馋鬼noun | chán guǐ | glutton |
| 馋嘴蛙 | chán zuǐ wā | sautéed bullfrog with chili sauce |
| 馋猫noun | chán māo | (humorous) person with a strong appetite |
| 贪馋adjective | tān chán | gluttonous |
| 馋痨noun | chán láo | gluttony |
馋 appears in 13 compound words: 62 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 馋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
看到美食我就嘴馋，忍不住想尝一尝。
Kàn dào měishí wǒ jiù zuǐchán, rěnbuzhù xiǎng cháng yì cháng.
When I see delicious food, I get greedy and can't help but want to taste it.
只是上海最近实在太热，没办法带去公园馋小朋友。
zhī shì shàng hǎi zuì jìn shí zài tài rè , méi bàn fǎ dài qù gōng yuán chán xiǎo péng yǒu .
It's just that it's been so hot in Shanghai lately that I can't take the kids to the park to treat them to something tasty.
抖音支付上线“馋猫外卖”攒钱小游戏 抖音近期上线“馋猫外卖”小游戏。
dǒu yīn zhī fù shàng xiàn chán māo wài mài cuán qián xiǎo yóu xì dǒu yīn jìn qī shàng xiàn chán māo wài mài xiǎo yóu xì .
Douyin Pay Launches "Greedy Cat Takeout" Money-Saving Mini-Game. Douyin recently launched the "Greedy Cat Takeout" mini-game.
这不是馋，是激素在替你“点菜”。
zhè bù shì chán , shì jī sù zài tì nǐ diǎn cài .
It's not that you're hungry—it's your hormones "ordering" for you.
小胡鸭柠檬酸辣凤爪:春日清爽解馋
xiǎo hú yā 柠 檬 suān là fèng zhǎo : chūn rì qīng shuǎng jiě chán
Xiao Hu Ya's Lemon-Spicy Chicken Wings: A Refreshing Spring Treat
阿娇“刷牙减肥法”止嘴馋!三餐照吃没节食 狠甩呼吸都会胖
ā jiāo shuā yá jiǎn féi fǎ zhǐ zuǐ chán ! sān cān zhào chī méi jié shí hěn shuǎi hū xī dōu huì pàng
Gillian Chung’s “Toothbrushing Diet” Curbs Cravings! She Eats Three Meals a Day Without Dieting—She’s So Determined She’d Gain Weight Just by Breathing
你说得我馋死了！
Nǐ shuō de wǒ chán sǐ le!
The way you describe it makes me drool.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 馋 (chán)?
Is 馋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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