婪

惏

lán

女 + 林

Definitions

lán avaricious

lán old variant of 婪[lán]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 林 represents the sound. Simplified form of 惏.

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 林

About

婪 (lán) means 'greedy' or 'avaricious.' It is a phonosemantic compound and the simplified form of 惏, which originally contained the heart radical 心. In its current structure, 林 (lín, 'forest') on top supplies the sound, while 女 (nǚ, 'woman') below provides the meaning, a reflection of patriarchal associations of greed with the feminine. The character conveys an intense, often corrupting material desire and commonly appears in compounds like 贪婪 (tānlán), used for corrupt officials or insatiable lust for wealth.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个人很贪婪。

Zhège rén hěn tānlán.

This person is very greedy.

贪婪的人没有朋友。

Tānlán de rén méiyǒu péngyǒu.

Greedy people have no friends.

他的贪婪导致他失败了。

Tā de tānlán dǎozhì tā shībài le.

His greed led to his failure.

过度贪婪往往会带来灾难。

Guòdù tānlán wǎngwǎng huì dàilái zāinàn.

Excessive greed often brings disaster.

她无法控制自己的贪婪欲望。

Tā wúfǎ kòngzhì zìjǐ de tānlán yùwàng.

She cannot control her greedy desires.

贪婪就像无底洞，永远填不满。

Tānlán jiù xiàng wúdǐdòng, yǒngyuǎn tián bù mǎn.

Greed is like a bottomless pit, never filled.

在商业世界中，贪婪有时被视为动力。

Zài shāngyè shìjiè zhōng, tānlán yǒushí bèi shì wéi dònglì.

In the business world, greed is sometimes seen as motivation.

尽管贪婪是人类的本性之一，但我们必须学会克制。

Jǐnguǎn tānlán shì rénlèi de běnxìng zhī yī, dàn wǒmen bìxū xuéhuì kèzhì.

Although greed is one of human nature, we must learn to restrain it.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 女

Component: 林

婪