俭 (jiǎn): (bound form) frugal, thrifty
俭 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) frugal.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 佥 (phonetic). It ranks #2685 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 俭 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- (bound form) frugal
- thrifty
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 俭 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 节俭adjective | jié jiǎn | frugal |
| 省吃俭用 | shěng chī jiǎn yòng | (idiom) to live frugally |
| 勤工俭学phrase | qín gōng jiǎn xué | to work part-time while studying |
| 俭省adjective | jiǎn shěng | thrifty |
| 勤俭节约 | qín jiǎn jié yuē | (idiom) diligent and thrifty |
| 勤俭adjective | qín jiǎn | hardworking and frugal |
| 勤俭持家 | qín jiǎn chí jiā | hardworking and thrifty in running one's household |
| 俭朴adjective | jiǎn pǔ | thrifty and simple |
| 丰俭由人phrase | fēng jiǎn yóu rén | fancy or simple according to one's budget |
| 自奉俭约 | zì fèng jiǎn yuē | to live frugally |
| 勤俭务实 | qín jiǎn wù shí | hardworking, thrifty and pragmatic |
| 勤俭建国phrase | qín jiǎn jiàn guó | to build up the country through thrift and hard work |
| 自奉甚俭 | zì fèng shèn jiǎn | (idiom) to allow oneself few comforts or pleasures |
| 克勤克俭phrase | kè qín kè jiǎn | (idiom) industrious and frugal |
| 由俭入奢易，由奢入俭难 | yóu jiǎn rù shē yì , yóu shē rù jiǎn nán | (idiom) it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance |
俭 appears in 32 compound words: 28 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 38 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 俭 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to have different products or services at different prices (cheap and expensive) to choose from
part-work and part-study; to support oneself through hard part-time work while studying
to have different products or services at different prices (cheap and expensive) to choose from
part-work and part-study; to support oneself through hard part-time work while studying
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 俭.
Example Sentences
作为俭民，我们有责任保护环境。
zuò wéi jiǎn mín , wǒ men yǒu zé rèn bǎo hù huán jìng .
As citizens, we have a responsibility to protect the environment.
马俭提醒，如果反复出现以下症状，就需要留个心眼了。
mǎ jiǎn tí xǐng , rú guǒ fǎn fù chū xiàn yǐ xià zhèng zhuàng , jiù xū yāo liú gè xīn yǎn le .
Ma Jian advises that if the following symptoms recur, you should be on your guard.
由奢入俭难，这种东西真的旦用难回。
yóu shē rù jiǎn nán , zhè zhǒng dōng xī zhēn de dàn yòng nán huí .
It’s hard to go from luxury to frugality—once you start using things like this, it’s really hard to go back.
这两张垫子都比其他牌子贵一点，但确实好摸，丰俭由人吧。
zhè liǎng zhāng diàn zǐ dōu bǐ qí tā pái zǐ guì yī diǎn , dàn què shí hǎo mō , fēng jiǎn yóu rén ba .
Both of these mouse pads are a little more expensive than other brands, but they really do feel great to use—it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth the splurge.
传感器的话，丰俭由人。
chuán gǎn qì de huà , fēng jiǎn yóu rén .
When it comes to sensors, it's up to you how much you want to spend.
广西殡葬服务“丰俭由人” 绿色生态安葬成新风
guǎng xī 殡 zàng fú wù fēng jiǎn yóu rén lǜ sè shēng tài ān zàng chéng xīn fēng
Funeral Services in Guangxi Offer Flexible Options; Eco-Friendly Burials Are Becoming the New Norm
为了存钱他省吃俭用了许多年。
Wèile cúnqián tā shěngchījiǎnyòng le xǔduō nián.
He pinched and scraped for many years to save money.
凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。
Píng zhe jiéjiǎn, tā shèfǎ yǐ zìjǐ wēibó de xīnshuǐ shēnghuó.
By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.
他勤俭节约，甚至是小气的。
Tā qínjiǎnjiéyuē, shènzhì shì xiǎoqì de.
He is thrifty, not to say stingy.
历览前贤国与家，成由勤俭破由奢。
Lì lǎn qián xián guó yǔ jiā, chéng yóu qínjiǎn pò yóu shē.
Looking back at the former wise rulers and nations, their success was achieved through diligence and frugality, while their downfall was caused by extravagance and luxury.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (person) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 俭 (jiǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 俭 and 验?
How many strokes does 俭 have?
What is the radical of 俭?
What are the components of 俭?
What are common words containing 俭?
What characters sound the same as 俭 (jiǎn)?
Is 俭 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 俭 with real-time feedback
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