甚 (shèn): excessive, undue, to exceed, to be more than, very, extremely
甚 (shèn) is a Chinese character meaning “excessive.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 甘 (structural) and 匹 (structural). It ranks #626 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- excessive
- undue
- to exceed
- to be more than
- very
- extremely
Stroke Order
Practice writing 甚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 甚
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 甚至于conjunction | shèn zhì yú | so much (that) |
| 更有甚者phrase | gèng yǒu shèn zhě | furthermore (idiom) |
| 甚或conjunction | shèn huò | so much so that |
| 欺人太甚phrase | qī rén tài shèn | (idiom) to bully intolerably |
| 甚嚣尘上phrase | shèn xiāo chén shàng | clamor raises the dust (idiom) |
| 甚高频noun | shèn gāo pín | very high frequency (VHF) |
| 甚而conjunction | shèn ér | even |
| 一之为甚noun | yī zhī wéi shèn | once is more than enough (idiom) |
| 不为已甚phrase | bù wéi yǐ shèn | refrain from going to extremes in meting out punishment |
| 甚而至于conjunction | shèn ér zhì yú | even |
| 不求甚解phrase | bù qiú shèn jiě | lit. not requiring a detailed understanding (idiom) |
| 自视甚高 | zì shì shèn gāo | to think highly of oneself (idiom) |
| 甚是adverb | shèn shì | (literary) very |
| 不甚adverb | bù shèn | (literary) not very |
| 甚为adverb | shèn wéi | very |
甚 appears in 31 compound words: 48 as the first character, 23 as the last, and 29 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 甚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to not seek deep understanding; to know things only on a superficial level
to not go too far; to refrain from going to extremes; to never go beyond reasonable limits
to not seek deep understanding; to know things only on a superficial level
to not go too far; to refrain from going to extremes; to never go beyond reasonable limits
Example Sentences
写好甚字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo shén zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "甚" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
【东方日报产评】美币策变数甚多 美元缺乏能见度
dōng fāng rì bào chǎn píng měi bì cè biàn shǔ shèn duō měi yuán quē fá néng jiàn dù
[Oriental Daily Business Commentary] Many Uncertainties Surround U.S. Monetary Policy; Lack of Clarity on the Dollar
高盛:中东战事对成品油市场影响尤甚
gāo shèng : zhōng dōng zhàn shì duì chéng pǐn yóu shì chǎng yǐng xiǎng yóu shèn
Goldman Sachs: The conflict in the Middle East is having a particularly significant impact on the refined oil market
...会2026.小百科—一文睇清“十五五”是甚么 “五年规划”始于建国一穷二白时代
. . . huì 2 0 2 6 . xiǎo bǎi kē — yī wén 睇 qīng shí wǔ wǔ shì shèn má wǔ nián guī huá shǐ yú jiàn guó yī qióng èr bái shí dài
... 2026. Encyclopedia - An article to see clearly what the "15th Five-Year Plan" is The "Five-Year Plan" began in the era of the founding of the People's Republic of China
...糖!营养师推介5大醒神早餐助稳血糖 搭配甚么饮品吃最好?
. . . táng ! yíng yǎng shī tuī jiè 5 dà xǐng shén zǎo cān zhù wěn xiě táng dā pèi shèn má yǐn pǐn chī zuì hǎo ?
... Sugar! Nutritionists recommend 5 refreshing breakfasts to help stabilize blood sugar What is the best drink to eat with?
广东流行歌诞生前我们听甚么?中大教授翻查史料还原时代曲面貌
guǎng dōng liú háng gē dàn shēng qián wǒ men tīng shèn má ? zhōng dà jiào shòu fān chá shǐ liào hái yuán shí dài qū miàn mào
What did we listen to before the birth of Cantonese pop songs? CUHK professors check historical materials to restore the appearance of the times
汤姆甚至拒绝听我的建议。
Tāngmǔ shènzhì jùjué tīng wǒ de jiànyì.
Tom refused to even listen to my suggestions.
丹甚至不住在伦敦。
Dān shènzhì bù zhù zài Lúndūn.
Dan didn't even live in London.
汤姆甚至没有驾驶证。
Tāngmǔ shènzhì méiyǒu jiàshǐzhèng.
Tom doesn't even have a driver's license.
有些宝宝甚至在一岁之前就学习游泳了。
Yǒuxiē bǎobǎo shènzhì zài yī suì zhīqián jiùxué xí yóuyǒng le.
Some babies learn to swim even before they are one year old.
Character Family
甘 Radical Family — Characters sharing the sweet radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 甚 (shèn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 甚 have?
What is the radical of 甚?
What are the components of 甚?
What are common words containing 甚?
What characters sound the same as 甚 (shèn)?
Is 甚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 甚 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.