尴 (gān) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

尴

gān[gan1]Tone 1

embarrassed, awkward

HSK 7

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尷

Guru Deep Dive

English · embarrassed, awkward

Cached lesson

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The outer enclosure '尢' provides a wide frame, while the inner component '甘' must be neatly centered inside without touching the outer walls.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 尷 by replacing the complex internal structure with simpler component parts while preserving the outer enclosure frame.

1. Meaning

embarrassed, awkward, in an awkward predicament

ill at easedifficult to handle (situation)

Adjective / Bound MorphemeNeutral / ColloquialBound morpheme#emotions#psychological state#social interactions

Sample Usage

这让我感到很尴尬。
Zhè ràng wǒ gǎndào hěn gāngà.
This makes me feel very embarrassed.
场面一度十分尴尬。
Chǎngmiàn yīdù shífēn gāngà.
The situation was extremely awkward for a moment.

2. Sound

/[kan⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

尴

gāngan1

¯(55)

=gān

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

gan

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate, releasing softly without an accompanying puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -an rhymes with 'un' in 'bun' or 'ahn'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, level pitch, identical to singing a high note continuously or humming while holding a steady flat line.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse it with gàn (to do/work, Tone 4). Ensure you hold the pitch high and level rather than dropping down sharply.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Imagine a high, steady laser beam pointing straight across the horizon at eye level. Keep your voice flat and high without any rising or dipping.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer enclosure '尢' provides a wide frame, while the inner component '甘' must be neatly centered inside without touching the outer walls.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 尷 by replacing the complex internal structure with simpler component parts while preserving the outer enclosure frame.

4. Components

Radical 尢 · Lame Radical (Lame, crippled, or crooked legs)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 尢 (Indicates a bodily deformity, stumbling, or crooked posture, reflecting awkwardness.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 甘 (original sound: gān)

A person with crooked or stumbling legs (尢) tasting a sweet or bitter experience (甘) finds themselves trapped in a physically and socially awkward (尴) position.

尢 crooked / lame legs (enclosure frame)
甘 sweet / phonetic indicator

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 监 (jiān)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the semantic frame 尢 (lame/crooked posture) and the phonetic component 甘 (gān), originally depicting the uncomfortable, twisted feeling of physical awkwardness.

Semantic Evolution: Over time, the physical sense of awkward posture or stumbling expanded into the psychological and social state of feeling embarrassed or ill at ease.

This character is almost exclusively used as a bound morpheme in the disyllabic compound 尴尬 (gāngà).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: カン

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You feel completely EMBARRASSED (gān) when your crooked legs (尢) trip while you are trying to taste something sweet (甘) in public!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

监

jiānto supervisePhonetic Core (声旁)

篮

lánbasket+ ⺮ (bamboo)

蓝

lánblue+ 艹 (plants)

槛

jiànbanister; balustrade+ 木 (tree)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

赶(gǎn)

赶 has the walking radical (走) meaning to catch up or rush, whereas 尴 uses the enclosure 尢.

敢(gǎn)

敢 means 'dare' and features the ear/hand component on the right, not the phonetic 甘 inside an enclosure.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

遇到这种事情，他觉得特别[___]。

Clue: gān

Common Learner Pitfall

Learners often try to use 尴 as a standalone word, but it almost exclusively appears paired with 尬 as '尴尬' (gāngà).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 尴 mean, and what is its most common compound word?

Production: How do you write the character for 'embarrassed' (gān in 尴尬) using the lame radical and甘?

尴gānembarrassed, awkward

Speed:

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