寒 hán — cold; poor; to tremble
寒冷的冬天，大家都穿上了厚衣服。Hán lěng de dōng tiān, dà jiā dōu chuān shàng le hòu yī fu.In the cold winter, everyone puts on thick clothes.
Common words: 寒冷 (hán lěng)、寒假 (hán jià)、严寒 (yán hán)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to tremble"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to tremble", including 寒 (hán), 颤 (chàn / zhàn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to tremble" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 寒 (hán), 颤 (chàn / zhàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span hán, chàn, zhàn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 寒 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 寒 háncold; poor; to trembleUseful words: 寒冷, 寒假
- 颤 chàn / zhànto tremble; to shiver; to shake; to vibrateUseful words: 颤抖, 发颤
Common words for these 2 "to tremble" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 寒 (hán) — so "to tremble" 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 "to tremble".
颤 chàn / zhàn — to tremble; to shiver; to shake; to vibrate
听到这个消息，她的声音都有些颤抖了。Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā de shēng yīn dōu yǒu xiē chàn dǒu le.Hearing the news, even her voice trembled a little.
Common words: 颤抖 (chàn dǒu)、发颤 (fā chàn)、去颤 (qù chàn)
All 2 characters
Open 寒、颤 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.