俭 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “thrifty”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “thrifty”
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Structure
亻 + 佥
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 佥 all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound · qiān sound
Structure from: 说文解字：儉，約也。从人僉聲（简化字「俭」对应 亻＋佥）
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing next to 佥 ("all, everyone"): while everyone else spends, this one person holds back — thrifty.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 节俭jié jiǎnthrifty; frugal; to economize俭 = jiǎn
- 俭朴jiǎn pǔthrifty and plain; simple and unextravagant俭 = jiǎnspoken asjián pǔ
Go deeper
All readings
thrifty
thrifty; frugal; sparing; not wasteful
用钱用物有节制，不浪费。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 节俭jié jiǎnthrifty; frugal; to economize俭 = jiǎn
- 俭朴jiǎn pǔthrifty and plain; simple and unextravagant俭 = jiǎnspoken asjián pǔ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 俭 mean?
俭 (jiǎn) means thrifty; frugal; sparing; not wasteful.
How do you pronounce 俭?
It is pronounced jiǎn.
What parts is 俭 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：儉，約也。从人僉聲（简化字「俭」对应 亻＋佥）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 俭 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 俭?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 俭?
Common ones are 节俭 and 俭朴. The reading of 俭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.