渐 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “gradually”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 斩 (to chop; to behead), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “gradually”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
氵 + 斩
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 漸，水。……从水斬聲 (modern simplified form 渐 = ⿰氵斩, checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes)
Memory aid
Water (氵) keeps chopping (斩) at the rock — not in one blow, but a little at a time. That is how things change gradually.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 逐渐zhú jiàngradually; step by step渐 = jiàn
- 渐渐jiàn jiàngradually; little by little渐 = jiàn
Go deeper
All readings
gradually
gradually; little by little; by degrees
慢慢地，一点一点地（变化或发展）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 逐渐zhú jiàngradually; step by step渐 = jiàn
- 渐渐jiàn jiàngradually; little by little渐 = jiàn
Rare readings, not taught: jiān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 渐 mean?
渐 (jiàn) means gradually; little by little; by degrees.
How do you pronounce 渐?
It is pronounced jiàn.
What parts is 渐 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 斩 (to chop; to behead), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 漸，水。……从水斬聲 (modern simplified form 渐 = ⿰氵斩, checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 渐 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 渐?
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 渐?
Common ones are 逐渐 and 渐渐. The reading of 渐 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.