堪 (kān) is a Chinese character meaning “to be able to bear”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 甚 (very; extremely), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “can bear”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 甚
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 堪，地突也。从土，甚声；IDS ⿰土甚
Memory aid
Earth (土) piled up beside something extreme (甚): only very solid ground can bear that much. 堪 = able to bear.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 难堪nán kānembarrassed; awkward; hard to bear堪 = kān
- 不堪bù kāncannot bear; unbearable; utterly (bad)堪 = kān
Go deeper
All readings
can bear; worthy of
to be able to bear; to endure; may; can; worthy of
能承受、忍受；可以，足以。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 难堪nán kānembarrassed; awkward; hard to bear堪 = kān
- 不堪bù kāncannot bear; unbearable; utterly (bad)堪 = kān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 堪 mean?
堪 (kān) means to be able to bear; to endure; may; can; worthy of.
How do you pronounce 堪?
It is pronounced kān.
What parts is 堪 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 甚 (very; extremely), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 堪，地突也。从土，甚声；IDS ⿰土甚. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 堪 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 堪?
土. 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 堪?
Common ones are 难堪 and 不堪. The reading of 堪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.