淡 (dàn) is a Chinese character meaning “light (in taste or colour)”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 炎 (flame; blazing hot), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “light; bland”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 炎
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 淡，薄味也。从水，炎聲 (modern form checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 氵, 3–10 炎)
Memory aid
Pour water (氵) on blazing flames (炎) and the fire dies down — strong turns weak. 淡 means light, pale or bland. (A memory aid, not the historical origin.)
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 清淡qīng dànlight (of food); not greasy or strongly flavoured淡 = dàn
- 冷淡lěng dàncold; indifferent; unenthusiastic淡 = dàn
- 恬淡tián dànindifferent to fame or gain; quiet and simple in outlook淡 = dàn
Go deeper
All readings
light; bland
light (in taste or colour); bland; weak, thin; indifferent; slack (business)
味道不浓、不咸；颜色浅；含的成分少；也指态度不热情，或生意不兴旺。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 清淡qīng dànlight (of food); not greasy or strongly flavoured淡 = dàn
- 冷淡lěng dàncold; indifferent; unenthusiastic淡 = dàn
- 恬淡tián dànindifferent to fame or gain; quiet and simple in outlook淡 = dàn
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 淡 mean?
淡 (dàn) means light (in taste or colour); bland; weak, thin; indifferent; slack (business).
How do you pronounce 淡?
It is pronounced dàn.
What parts is 淡 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 炎 (flame; blazing hot), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 淡，薄味也。从水，炎聲 (modern form checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 氵, 3–10 炎). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 淡 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 淡?
氵. 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 淡?
Common ones are 清淡, 冷淡, 恬淡. The reading of 淡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.