逊 (xùn) is a Chinese character meaning “modest”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 孙 (grandchild), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “modest; yielding”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 孙
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字：遜，遁也。从辵孫聲（简化作 逊，辵→辶、孫→孙）；IDS 拆分 ⿺辶孙，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 为「孙」，笔画 6–8 为「辶」
Memory aid
A grandchild (孙) on the road (辶) steps aside to let the elders walk first — yielding and modest, that is 逊.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 谦逊qiān xùnmodest; humble逊 = xùn
- 逊色xùn sèto be inferior; to pale in comparison逊 = xùn
Go deeper
All readings
modest; yielding; inferior
modest; humble; to yield; to be inferior to
谦让，恭顺；比不上，差。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 谦逊qiān xùnmodest; humble逊 = xùn
- 逊色xùn sèto be inferior; to pale in comparison逊 = xùn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 逊 mean?
逊 (xùn) means modest; humble; to yield; to be inferior to.
How do you pronounce 逊?
It is pronounced xùn.
What parts is 逊 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 孙 (grandchild), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：遜，遁也。从辵孫聲（简化作 逊，辵→辶、孫→孙）；IDS 拆分 ⿺辶孙，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 为「孙」，笔画 6–8 为「辶」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 逊 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 逊?
辶. 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 逊?
Common ones are 谦逊 and 逊色. The reading of 逊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.