儉

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

• 𱕚, 𢸟, 𰸶, 𨯘, 𰯥, 𨇓

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 119, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1190
• Dae Jaweon: page 252, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 226, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5109

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ɡramʔ): semantic 人 (“person”) + phonetic 僉 (OC *skʰlam).

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

   省吃儉用／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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     礼，与其奢也，宁俭；丧，与其易也，宁戚。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 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. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) modest; moderate; temperate

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

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 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。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     恭俭而好礼者宜歌小雅。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     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).

3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) lacking; insufficient
4. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) poor harvest
5. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to save up; to store up
6. (Teochew, Singapore Hokkien) to save; to economize
7. a surname

• “儉”, 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., 2025.
• “儉”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(Jinmeiyō kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 倹)

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

• Go-on: げん (gen)
• Kan-on: けん (ken)
• Kun: つましい (tsumashii, 儉しい)、つずまやか (tsuzumayaka, 儉やか)^{←つづまやか (tudumayaka, 儉やか, historical)}

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kʌ̹m]
• Phonetic hangul: [검]

Wikisource

儉 (eumhun 검소하 검 (geomsoha geom))

1. hanja form^? of 검 (“frugal, temperate”)

儉: Hán Nôm readings: kiệm, cợm, hiếm, thiếu

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