很 (hěn) is a Chinese character meaning “very”. It is written from 彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 艮 (gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn"), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “very”
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Structure
彳 + 艮
Left–right structure
- 彳 a short step; the “double-person” left side · chì meaning
- 艮 gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn" · gèn sound
Structure from: 说文解字：很，不聽從也。从彳艮聲。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（彳3 + 艮6 = 9 笔）
Memory aid
彳 on the left is a small step forward. 艮 on the right is only there for the sound — gèn, close to hěn. Take one more step than you needed to, and that is 很: very.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 很好hěn hǎovery good; very well很 = hěnspoken ashén hǎoHSK 1
- 很多hěn duōa lot; many; much很 = hěnHSK 1
Go deeper
All readings
very
very; quite; rather (placed before an adjective or a verb of feeling)
表示程度高，用在形容词或表示心理活动的动词前面。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 很好hěn hǎovery good; very well很 = hěnspoken ashén hǎoHSK 1
- 很多hěn duōa lot; many; much很 = hěnHSK 1
Origin
A phono-semantic compound: 彳 on the left is the "short step" element used for walking and conduct, and 艮 on the right supplies the sound. 说文解字 glosses the old word as "to disobey, to go against"; the everyday modern sense "very" is a later use of the same character.
Source: 说文解字：很，不聽從也。从彳艮聲。
Sound component
艮 family onset shift
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 很 mean?
很 (hěn) means very; quite; rather (placed before an adjective or a verb of feeling).
How do you pronounce 很?
It is pronounced hěn.
What parts is 很 made of?
彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 艮 (gèn — Kangxi radical 138; the trigram for mountain, also "stubborn"), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：很，不聽從也。从彳艮聲。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（彳3 + 艮6 = 9 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 很 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 很?
彳. 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 很?
Common ones are 很好 and 很多. The reading of 很 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.