管 (guǎn): to take care (of), to control, to manage, to be in charge of, to look after, to run
管 (guǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to take care (of).” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (semantic) and 官 (phonetic). It ranks #252 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 管 bamboo. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).
Definitions
- to take care (of)
- to control
- to manage
- to be in charge of
- to look after
- to run
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 管 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 管
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不管conjunction | bù guǎn | not to be concerned | 4 |
| 尽管adverb/conjunction | jǐn guǎn | despite | 4 |
| 管理verb | guǎn lǐ | to supervise | 4 |
| 主管verb/noun | zhǔ guǎn | in charge | 6 |
| 管道noun | guǎn dào | tubing | 6 |
| 血管noun | xuè guǎn | vein | 6 |
| 保管verb | bǎo guǎn | to hold in safekeeping | 6 |
| 吸管noun | xī guǎn | (drinking) straw | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不管怎样phrase | bù guǎn zěn yàng | in any case |
| 管用adjective | guǎn yòng | efficacious |
| 接管verb | jiē guǎn | to take over |
| 管子noun | guǎn zi | tube |
| 管理员noun | guǎn lǐ yuán | manager |
| 水管noun | shuǐ guǎn | water pipe |
| 管家noun | guǎn jiā | (old) butler |
| 管闲事verb | guǎn xián shì | to meddle |
| 掌管verb | zhǎng guǎn | in charge of |
| 监管verb | jiān guǎn | to oversee |
| 管制verb | guǎn zhì | to control |
| 多管闲事phrase | duō guǎn xián shì | meddling in other people's business |
| 管辖verb | guǎn xiá | to administer |
| 气管noun | qì guǎn | windpipe |
| 看管verb | kān guǎn | to look after |
管 appears in 108 compound words: 34 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 2 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 管 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
to bother and interfere others' business; to have an oar in someone's boat; to meddle in others' business
orchestra (large group of musicians who play together on various instruments)
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
housekeeper who looks after old people with no children or whose children do not live with them
orchestra (large group of musicians who play together on various instruments)
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
housekeeper who looks after old people with no children or whose children do not live with them
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 管.
Example Sentences
作为部门主管，他要负责管理二十多名员工。
Zuòwéi bùmén zhǔguǎn, tā yào fùzé guǎnlǐ èrshí duō míng yuángōng.
As the department head, he is responsible for managing more than twenty employees.
预见金马|财通证券资管马晓立:厚植金融为民底色,以..
yù jiàn jīn mǎ cái tōng zhèng quàn zī guǎn mǎ xiǎo lì : hòu zhí jīn róng wéi mín de sè , yǐ . .
Foresight Golden Horse|Caitong Securities Asset Management Ma Xiaoli: Cultivate finance as the background of the people, to:
英国男子打砸香港机场 包中还搜出疑似管制药品
yīng guó nán zǐ dǎ zá xiāng gǎng jī chǎng bāo zhōng hái sōu chū yí shì guǎn zhì yào pǐn
British man vandalizes Hong Kong airport, suspected controlled substances found in his bag.
寒风中的暖流丨贵安新区市场监督管理局为外卖骑手送去..
hán fēng zhōng de nuǎn liú 丨 guì ān xīn ōu shì chǎng jiān dū guǎn lǐ jú wéi wài mài qí shǒu sòng qù . .
Warm Current in the Cold Wind丨Gui'an New District Market Supervision Administration sends takeaway riders...
宁远县城管局:禁燃禁放不松懈 守护平安祥和年
nìng yuǎn xiàn chéng guǎn jú jīn rán jīn fàng bù sōng xiè shǒu hù píng ān xiáng hé nián
Ningyuan County Urban Management Bureau: ban on burning and discharge of no slack guarding the peace and tranquility of the year
抖音高管谈Seedance2.0:最近团队投入最...
dǒu yīn gāo guǎn tán . zuì jìn tuán duì tóu rù zuì . . .
TikTok Executive on Seedance 2.0: The Team's Most Recent Focus...
你能演奏管风琴吗？
Nǐ néng yǎnzòu guǎnfēngqín ma?
Can you play the organ?
不管发生什么，我还是会遵守诺言。
Bù guǎn fāshēng shénme, wǒ háishi huì zūnshǒu nuòyán.
I'll keep my word, whatever may happen.
这是管弦乐团的第五场音乐会。
Zhè shì guǎnxiányuètuán de dìwǔ chǎng yīnyuèhuì.
This is the fifth concert by this orchestra.
晶体管的发明标志着一个新时代的开始。
Jīngtǐguǎn de fāmíng biāozhì zhe yī gè xīnshídài de kāishǐ.
The invention of the transistor marked a new era.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the ⺮ (bamboo) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 管 (guǎn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 管 have?
What is the radical of 管?
What are the components of 管?
What are common words containing 管?
What characters sound the same as 管 (guǎn)?
Is 管 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 管 with real-time feedback
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