儉

Han character

儉 (radical 9, 人+13, 15 strokes, cangjie input 人人一人 (OOMO), four-corner 2828₆, composition ⿰亻僉)

1. temperate, frugal, economical

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 儉
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Small seal script s05807 Transcribed ancient scripts L35511 L18813 L18814 L18815 L18816 L18817 L18818
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Pronunciation

Definitions

儉

1. frugal; thrifty

   節儉 / 节俭  ―  jiéjiǎn  ―  frugal; thrifty; economical

   勤儉 / 勤俭  ―  qínjiǎn  ―  hardworking and thrifty

   儉樸 / 俭朴  ―  jiǎnpǔ  ―  thrifty and simple

   省喫儉用 / 省吃俭用  ―  shěngchījiǎnyòng  ―  to save on food and daily expenses

   勤工儉學 / 勤工俭学  ―  qíngōngjiǎnxué  ―  part-time work and part-time study

   • 禮，與其奢也，寧儉；喪，與其易也，寧戚。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     礼，与其奢也，宁俭；丧，与其易也，宁戚。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, circa 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Lǐ, yǔqí shē yě, nìng jiǎn; sāng, yǔqí yì yě, nìng qī. [Pinyin]

     In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to observances.

2. ^† modest; moderate; temperate

   • 夫子溫、良、恭、儉、讓以得之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     夫子温、良、恭、俭、让以得之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, circa 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Fūzǐ wēn, liáng, gōng, jiǎn, ràng yǐ dé zhī. [Pinyin]

     Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant and thus he gets his information.

   • 恭儉而好禮者宜歌小雅。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     恭俭而好礼者宜歌小雅。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, circa 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Gōngjiǎn ér hàolǐ zhě yí gē Xiǎoyǎ. [Pinyin]

     The courteous and self-restraining, the lovers of the rules of propriety, should sing the Xiao Ya (Minor Odes of the Kingdom). (translation by James Legge)

3. ^† lacking; insufficient
4. ^† poor harvest
5. A surname​.

Kanji

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 倹)

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Hanja

儉 • (geom) (hangeul 검, revised geom, McCune–Reischauer kŏm)

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Han character

儉 (kiệm, cợm, hiếm, thiếu)

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