烂 (làn): soft, mushy, well-cooked and soft, to rot, to decompose
烂 (làn) is a Chinese character meaning “soft.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (semantic) and 兰 (phonetic). It ranks #1738 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 烂 fire. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- soft
- mushy
- well-cooked and soft
- to rot
- to decompose
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 烂 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 腐烂 | fǔ làn | to rot |
| 烂摊子 | làn tān zi | terrible mess |
| 破烂 | pò làn | worn-out |
| 灿烂 | càn làn | to glitter |
| 砸烂 | zá làn | to smash |
| 焦头烂额 | jiāo tóu làn é | lit. badly burned about the head (from trying to put out a fire) (idiom) |
| 烂泥 | làn ní | mud |
| 稀烂 | xī làn | thoroughly mashed |
| 溃烂 | kuì làn | to fester |
| 绚烂 | xuàn làn | splendid |
| 烂熟 | làn shú | well cooked |
| 糜烂 | mí làn | dissipated |
| 海枯石烂 | hǎi kū shí làn | lit. until the seas dry up and stones go soft (idiom) |
| 天真烂漫 | tiān zhēn làn màn | (idiom) innocent and unaffected |
| 烂漫 | làn màn | unaffected |
烂 appears in 63 compound words: 41 as the first character, 41 as the last, and 17 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 烂 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
metal scrap; useless rusty metal objects; anything that is broken and useless; junk
to be scorched by the flames; in a sorry plight; hard-pressed; overwrought; in trouble; overwhelmed
to persistently pursue one's love (despite multiple rejections); undeterred chasing; obsession
to be scorched by the flames; in a sorry plight; hard-pressed; overwrought; in trouble; overwhelmed
Example Sentences
这些水果放太久已经烂了，不能再吃了。
Zhèxiē shuǐguǒ fàng tài jiǔ yǐjīng làn le, bùnéng zài chī le.
These fruits have been left too long and have rotted; they can't be eaten anymore.
嫌00919股价不涨烂透了?存股哥算给你看:13个月含息默默赚...
xián 0 0 9 1 9 gǔ jià bù zhǎng làn tòu le ? cún gǔ gē suàn gěi nǐ kàn : 1 3 gè yuè hán xī mò mò zhuàn . . .
Do you think the stock price of 00919 is not rising? Deposit brother calculates for you: 13 months with interest to earn silently...
...道1号南向台南系统“3车追撞”!车尾变形烂毁 2人送医
. . . dào 1 hào nán xiàng tái nán xì tǒng 3 chē zhuī zhuàng ! chē wěi biàn xíng làn huǐ 2 rén sòng yī
... Road No. 1 southbound Tainan system "3-car collision"! The rear of the car was deformed and rotten, and 2 people were sent to the hospital
前TVB“御用烂仔”游飚猝逝终年57岁 好友黄文标叫救护...
qián yù yòng làn zǐ yóu 飚 猝 shì zhōng nián suì hǎo yǒu huáng wén biāo jiào jiù hù . . .
Former TVB "Royal Rotten Boy" You Biao died suddenly at the age of 57, and his friend Huang Wenbiao called for ambulance...
前TVB“御用烂仔”游飚脑出血猝逝终年57岁 转行除甲醛...
qián yù yòng làn zǐ yóu 飚 nǎo chū xiě 猝 shì zhōng nián suì zhuǎn háng chú jiǎ 醛 . . .
Former TVB "Royal Rotten Boy" You Biao died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 57 and changed careers to remove formaldehyde...
...井段惊险车祸!宾士男猛撞缓撞车 “车头全烂”酿1伤
. . . jǐng duàn jīng xiǎn chē huò ! bīn shì nán měng zhuàng huǎn zhuàng chē chē tóu quán làn niàng shāng
... Thrilling car accident in the well section! The Mercedes-Benz man slammed into the car and crashed slowly, and the front of the car was completely rotten, causing 1 injury
汤姆把窗玻璃打烂了。
Tāngmǔ bǎ chuāngbōlí dǎ làn le.
Tom broke the window pane.
这个世界是灿烂的吗？
Zhège shìjiè shì cànlàn de ma?
Is it splendid, this world?
你好烂哦！ 我什么事都需要跟你讲！
Nǐhǎo làn ó! wǒ shénmeshì dōu xūyào gēn nǐ jiǎng!
You suck dude! I have to tell you everything!
盒子里的一些苹果烂了。
Hézi lǐ de yīxiē píngguǒ làn le.
Some of the apples in the box are rotten.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 烂 (làn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 烂 and 硬?
How many strokes does 烂 have?
What is the radical of 烂?
What are the components of 烂?
What are common words containing 烂?
What characters sound the same as 烂 (làn)?
Is 烂 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 烂 with real-time feedback
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