敢

敢 U+6562, 敢 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6562 ← 敡 [U+6561] CJK Unified Ideographs 散 → [U+6563]

Translingual

Stroke order

Mainland China

Alternative forms

• In mainland China (based on Xin Zixing 新字形), the upper left component is written 乛 (one stroke).
• In other regions, the upper left component is written 丅 (two strokes) which is the orthodox form found in the Kangxi dictionary.

Han character

敢 (Kangxi radical 66, 攴+8, 12 strokes in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 11 strokes in mainland China, cangjie input 弓十人大 (NJOK) or 一十人大 (MJOK), four-corner 1814₀ or 1844₀, composition ⿰⿱乛耳攵(G) or ⿰⿱丅耳攵(HTJKV))

Derived characters

• 㒈, 噉, 𡑒, 㜟, 𢕭, 㦑, 撖, 澉, 㺖, 䧩, 𣊟, 橄, 瞰, 𥕵, 𥼲, 𦗪, 𦪧, 𧗐, 譀, 豃, 𧸂, 𨅺, 𮡜, 𨬒(𰾳), 𩍉, 䭛, 䲎, 𪉿(𬸹), 𡪯, 𭗐, 䆻, 𥴊, 𫶔, 憨, 饏, 𠣽, 𭅞, 𠪚, 𤺍, 嚴/𫿞(厳/严), 闞(阚), 鬫

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 472, character 26
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13260
• Dae Jaweon: page 825, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1463, character 9
• Unihan data for U+6562

Chinese

trad.		敢
simp. #		敢
2nd round simp.		攼
alternative forms		𢼿 𢽤 𢽿

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 敢
Western Zhou	Warring States
Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script

Characters in the same phonetic series (敢) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
撖	*kʰɯːm, *kʰreːmʔ, *ɡraːmʔ
澉	*l̥ʰaːms, *klaːmʔ
噉	*l'aːmʔ
敢	*klaːmʔ
橄	*klaːmʔ
瞰	*kʰlaːms
闞	*kʰlaːms, *qʰreːmʔ, *hŋraːms
憨	*qʰaːm, *qʰlaːms
譀	*qʰlaːms, *qʰraːms, *qʰraːb
巖	*ŋraːm
礹	*ŋraːm, *ŋamʔ
豃	*qʰraːmʔ
讝	*kjam
玁	*hŋramʔ
嚴	*ŋam
儼	*ŋamʔ
曮	*ŋamʔ
釅	*ŋams

In oracle bone script, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : Two hands 廾 holding a weapon 干 hunting a wild boar 豕.

In the Zhou dynasty one of the hands was removed and a phonetic component 甘 (OC *kaːm) was added. The boar shape got progressively corrupted until it looked like a hand 彐, thus obtaining the very old and rather conservative variant 𢼿.

The sound component 甘 and the weapon 干 stylized and merged into 古, leading to the seal script form 𢽤. Then, the wild boar on top stylized into 爫, thus obtaining 𠭖.

Eventually, the left half corrupted further into the traditional version ⿱丅耳, which was then stylized.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/m-wam (“to dare”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): gǎn (gan³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄢˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): gan³

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gam²

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): gam²

• Gan (Wiktionary): gon³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kám / kam

  (Meixian, Guangdong): gam³

• Jin (Wiktionary): gan²
• Northern Min (KCR): gǒ̤ng
• Eastern Min (BUC): gāng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): káⁿ / kám / kiám / kán

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gan²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵koe
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): gan³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gǎn
    • Wade–Giles: kan³
    • Yale: gǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gaan
    • Palladius: гань (ganʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kän²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: gan³
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gan
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kan⁵³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gam²
    • Yale: gám
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gam²
    • Guangdong Romanization: gem²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm³⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: gam²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kam⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: gon³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵn²¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kám
    • Hakka Romanization System: gam^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gam³
    • Sinological IPA: /kam³¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kám / kam
    • Hakka Romanization System: gam^ˋ / gam
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gam³ / gam⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /kam³¹/, /kam⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: gam³
    • Sinological IPA: /kam³¹/

Note: Southern Sixian kam - variant used for the rhetorical/interrogative adverb.

• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: gan²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /kæ̃⁵³/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gǒ̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɔŋ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gāng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: káⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: kánn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kvar
    • IPA (Singapore): /kã⁴²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kã⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /kã⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kã⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kám
    • Tâi-lô: kám
    • Phofsit Daibuun: karm
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /kam⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kam⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kam⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiám
    • Tâi-lô: kiám
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiarm
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kiam⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kán
    • Tâi-lô: kán
    • Phofsit Daibuun: karn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kan⁵³/

Note:

• káⁿ - vernacular (including the rhetorical adverb and "perhaps" in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou);
• kám - literary (including the rhetorical adverb and "perhaps" in Xiamen, as well as the rhetorical/interrogative adverb in Taiwan);
• kiám/kán - variants used for the rhetorical adverb.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: gan²
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: káⁿ
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kã⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵koe
    • MiniDict: koe^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²koe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kø³⁴/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: gan³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kan⁴¹/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 敢
Mandarin	Beijing	/kan²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/kan²¹³/
	Tianjin	/kan¹³/
	Jinan	/kã⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/kã⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/kan⁵³/
	Xi'an	/kã⁵³/
	Xining	/kã⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/kan⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/kɛ̃n⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/kan⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/kan⁴²/
	Chengdu	/kan⁵³/
	Guiyang	/kan⁴²/
	Kunming	/kã̠⁵³/
	Nanjing	/kaŋ²¹²/
	Hefei	/kæ̃²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/kæ̃⁵³/
	Pingyao	/kɑŋ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/kæ̃⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/kø³⁵/
	Suzhou	/kø⁵¹/
	Hangzhou	/kẽ̞⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/ky³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/kɛ³⁵/
	Tunxi	/kɛ³¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/kan⁴¹/
	Xiangtan	/kan⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/kɵn²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/kam³¹/
	Taoyuan	/kɑm³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/kɐm³⁵/
	Nanning	/kam³⁵/
	Hong Kong	/kɐm³⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kam⁵³/ /kã⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kaŋ³²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kɔŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/kã⁵³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ka²¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: kamX

Rime
Character	敢
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	談 (143)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古覽切
Baxter	kamX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kɑmX/
Pan Wuyun	/kɑmX/
Shao Rongfen	/kɑmX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kamX/
Li Rong	/kɑmX/
Wang Li	/kɑmX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kɑmX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gam2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ˤamʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*klaːmʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	敢
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ kamX ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ˁamʔ/
English	dare
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	敢
Reading #	1/1
No.	3674
Phonetic component	敢
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	敢
Old Chinese	/*klaːmʔ/
Notes	說文從爪又，古聲，金文從爭甘聲， 此爲隸變

Definitions

敢

1. bold; brave; daring
2. to dare (to); to venture (to)

   我們必須敢想，敢說，敢幹。 [MSC, trad.]
   我们必须敢想，敢说，敢干。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒmen bìxū gǎn xiǎng, gǎn shuō, gǎn gàn. [Pinyin]

   We must dare to think, speak up and act.

   他不敢正眼看她。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   Tā bù gǎn zhèng yǎnkàn tā. [Pinyin]

   He didn't dare to look at her in the face.

   在那個風雨交加的夜晚，很少有人敢出去。 [MSC, trad.]
   在那个风雨交加的夜晚，很少有人敢出去。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zài nà ge fēngyǔ jiāojiā de yèwǎn, hěn shào yǒurén gǎn chūqù. [Pinyin]

   Very few people ventured to go out on that stormy night.

3. to be sure; to be certain; to bet; to presume

   敢肯定  ―  gǎn kěndìng  ―  to be sure, to be certain

   敢說／敢说  ―  gǎn shuō  ―  to be sure, to be certain

   我敢說你解決不了這個難題。 [MSC, trad.]
   我敢说你解决不了这个难题。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ gǎn shuō nǐ jiějuébuliǎo zhè ge nántí. [Pinyin]

   I bet you can't do this puzzle.

4. (polite) may I venture

   敢問／敢问  ―  gǎn wèn  ―  may I ask

   • 敢問路在何方？路在腳下。 [MSC, trad.]
     敢问路在何方？路在脚下。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1986, 閻肅 Yan Su (lyricist) & 許鏡清 Xu Jingqing (composer),《敢問路在何方》"Dare I ask where the road is?"

     Gǎn wèn lù zài héfāng? Lù zài jiǎoxià. [Pinyin]

     Dare I ask where the road is? The road is beneath our feet.

5. (literary or Hokkien, Teochew, Taiwanese Hakka, rhetorical question) can it be possible that; how

   Alternative form: 豈／岂

   敢通按呢？ [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  Kám thang án-ne? [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  How could it be like this?

6. (archaic or Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou Hokkien) perhaps
7. (Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) Interrogative adverb, placed before the verb to create a yes-no question.

   Alternative forms: 咁, 甘, 干

   你敢有閒？／你敢有闲？ [Taiwanese Hokkien]  ―  Lí kám ū-êng? [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  Are you free?

Synonyms

• (can it be possible that):

Dialectal synonyms of 難道 (“could it be that; is it possible that”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		莫非, 豈, 莫不是
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		莫非, 豈, 難道, 莫不是
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	難道, 難不成, 甭
	Taiwan	難道, 難不成
Central Plains Mandarin	Xuzhou	難說
Cantonese	Guangzhou	唔通
	Hong Kong	唔通
	Taishan	唔成, 敢係, 唔得旨, 毋旨, 毋旨估
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	無成, 敢講, 敢係
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	無成, 敢講, 敢係
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	無成, 敢講, 敢係
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	無成, 敢講, 敢會, 敢係
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	無成, 毋成, 敢講, 敢係
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	無敢, 敢講, 敢會, 敢係
Southern Min	Xiamen	敢, 總無
	Quanzhou	敢, 總無, 攏無
	Zhangzhou	敢, 總無
	Tainan	敢
	Manila (Hokkien)	敢
	Shantou	未是
	Jieyang	未是, 敢, 敢是
Wu	Shanghai	只勿
	Shanghai (Chongming)	難算得
Xiang	Changsha	冇過

See also

• 肯 (kěn)

Compounds

• 不敢 (bùgǎn)
• 不敢出氣／不敢出气
• 不敢則聲／不敢则声
• 不敢告勞／不敢告劳
• 不敢吭聲／不敢吭声
• 不敢妄言
• 不敢後人／不敢后人
• 不敢從命／不敢从命
• 不敢欺
• 不敢當／不敢当 (bùgǎndāng)
• 何敢 (hégǎn)
• 到敢
• 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn)
• 勇猛果敢
• 怕敢
• 愧不敢當／愧不敢当
• 敢且
• 敢作敢為／敢作敢为 (gǎnzuògǎnwéi)
• 敢作敢當／敢作敢当
• 敢保
• 敢做敢當／敢做敢当 (gǎnzuògǎndāng)
• 敢則／敢则
• 敢則是／敢则是
• 敢勇當先／敢勇当先
• 敢只是
• 敢問／敢问 (gǎnwèn)
• 敢待
• 敢怕
• 敢怒而不敢言
• 敢情
• 敢攀玉趾
• 敢於／敢于 (gǎnyú)
• 敢是
• 敢死 (gǎnsǐ)
• 敢死士
• 敢死軍／敢死军 (gǎnsǐjūn)
• 敢死隊／敢死队 (gǎnsǐduì)
• 敢當／敢当 (gǎndāng)
• 敢緊／敢紧
• 敢自 (gǎnzì)
• 敢若 (káⁿ-ná) (Min Nan)
• 敢莫是
• 敢言
• 敢請／敢请
• 未敢 (wèigǎn)
• 果敢 (guǒgǎn)
• 正色敢言
• 石敢當／石敢当 (shígǎndāng)
• 膽敢／胆敢 (dǎngǎn)
• 莫敢是
• 莫敢誰何／莫敢谁何 (mògǎn-shuíhé)
• 豈敢／岂敢 (qǐgǎn)
• 竟敢 (jìnggǎn)
• 鬼子敢爾／鬼子敢尔

 

Descendants

• → Zhuang: gamj

Further reading

• “Entry #8439”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji

敢

(Jōyō kanji)

1. daring, brave, bold
2. sad, tragic, pitiful

Readings

• Go-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)^{←かむ (kamu, historical)}
• Kan-on: かん (kan, Jōyō)^{←かむ (kamu, historical)}
• Kun: あえて (aete, 敢えて)、あえない (aenai, 敢えない)、あえず (aezu, 敢えず)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
敢
かん Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 敢 (MC kamX).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɴ]

Affix

敢(かん) • (kan) 

1. daring; brave; bold

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 敢行(かんこう) (kankō)
• 敢然(かんぜん) (kanzen)
• 敢闘(かんとう) (kantō)

Korean

Hanja

敢 (eumhun 감히 감 (gamhi gam))

1. hanja form^? of 감 (“dare”)

Vietnamese

Han character

敢: Hán Nôm readings: cám, cảm, dám

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.