慎 shèn — cautious
做事要谨慎，别马虎大意。Zuò shì yào jǐn shèn, bié mǎ hu dà yì.Be careful in what you do; do not be careless.
Common words: 谨慎 (jǐn shèn)、慎重 (shèn zhòng)、不慎 (bù shèn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "cautious"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "cautious", including 慎 (shèn), 谨 (jǐn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "cautious" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 慎 (shèn), 谨 (jǐn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shèn, jǐn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 慎 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 慎 shèncautiousUseful words: 谨慎, 慎重
- 谨 jǐncautiousUseful words: 谨慎, 严谨
Common words for these 2 "cautious" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 慎 (shèn) — so "cautious" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "cautious".
谨 jǐn — cautious
做实验时一定要谨慎小心。Zuò shí yàn shí yí dìng yào jǐn shèn xiǎo xīn.When doing experiments, one must be cautious and careful.
Common words: 谨慎 (jǐn shèn)、严谨 (yán jǐn)、谨上 (jǐn shàng)
All 2 characters
Open 慎、谨 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.