渐 (jiàn): gradual, gradually, to imbue
渐 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “gradual.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 斩 (phonetic). It ranks #870 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 渐 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- gradual
- gradually
- to imbue
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 渐 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 渐
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日渐adverb | rì jiàn | to progress (or increase, change etc) day by day |
| 渐入佳境 | jiàn rù jiā jìng | (idiom) to gradually improve |
| 循序渐进phrase | xún xù jiàn jìn | in sequence, step by step (idiom) |
| 渐进verb | jiàn jìn | progress step by step |
| 防微杜渐phrase | fáng wēi dù jiàn | to nip in the bud (idiom) |
| 渐近线noun | jiàn jìn xiàn | (math.) asymptote |
| 渐变verb | jiàn biàn | gradual change |
| 渐新世 | jiàn xīn shì | Oligocene (geological epoch from 34m-24m years ago) |
| 渐变色 | jiàn biàn sè | color gradient |
| 渐新统 | jiàn xīn tǒng | Oligocene system (geology) |
| 渐次adverb | jiàn cì | gradually |
| 渐行渐远phrase | jiàn xíng jiàn yuǎn | gradually proceed, gradually get further apart |
| 渐快adverb | jiàn kuài | to speed up gradually |
| 渐近verb | jiàn jìn | to approach gradually |
| 金渐层 | jīn jiàn céng | golden British shorthair (cat) |
渐 appears in 26 compound words: 69 as the first character, 15 as the last, and 15 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 渐 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to nip in the bud; to put an end to a bad thing or mistake when it germinates
Example Sentences
天色渐渐暗了下来，我们该回家了。
Tiānsè jiànjiàn àn le xiàlai, wǒmen gāi huí jiā le.
It's getting dark gradually; we should go home.
永丰投顾:指数逐渐消除与季线乖离 逢低买进机会显现
yǒng fēng tóu gù : zhǐ shǔ zhú jiān xiāo chú yǔ jì xiàn guāi lí féng dī mǎi jìn jī huì xiǎn xiàn
Yongfeng Investment Advisory: Indices Are Gradually Closing the Gap with the Quarterly Moving Average; Opportunities to Buy on Dips Are Emerging
差距渐缩小?陆开源AI大受欢迎 美国会机构警告...
chā jù jiān suō xiǎo ? lù kāi yuán A I dà shòu huān yíng měi guó huì jī gòu jǐng gào . . .
Is the gap narrowing? AI from Lu Kaiyuan is gaining popularity, but U.S. congressional bodies are issuing warnings...
东方日报A1:15小学0班收生 杀校钟声渐增
dōng fāng rì bào A 1 : 1 5 xiǎo xué 0 bān shōu shēng shā jiào zhōng shēng jiān zēng
Oriental Daily, A1:15: Enrollment for Kindergarten Class 0; Calls to Close Schools Grow Louder
王展造:国盟换帅,伊党掌舵,绿意渐浓?
wáng zhǎn zào guó méng huàn shuài , yī dǎng zhǎng duò , lǜ yì jiān nóng ?
Wang Zhanzao: The National League changed its commander, the Iraqi party took the helm, and the greenery gradually deepened?
...9870)收涨超3.5%,化工景气拐点逐渐明朗-FX168
. . . shōu zhǎng chāo . , huà gōng jǐng qì guǎi diǎn zhú jiān míng lǎng
Chemical stocks (9870) closed up over 3.5% as the industry's recovery trend becomes increasingly clear - FX168
他的威信日渐衰落。
Tā de wēixìn rìjiàn shuāiluò.
His prestige is fading.
药效开始渐渐减退。
Yào xiào kāishǐ jiànjiàn jiǎntuì.
The effects of the medicine were wearing off.
我父亲逐渐好转了。
Wǒ fùqin zhújiàn hǎozhuǎn le.
My father is getting better by degrees.
乌云逐渐布满了整个天空。
Wūyún zhújiàn bù mǎn le zhěnggè tiānkōng.
The sky has gradually clouded over.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 渐 (jiàn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 渐 and 暂?
How many strokes does 渐 have?
What is the radical of 渐?
What are the components of 渐?
What are common words containing 渐?
What characters sound the same as 渐 (jiàn)?
Is 渐 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 渐 with real-time feedback
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