惨

miserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; disastrous; tragic; dim; gloomy

11 strokes Dict coverage rank #1,690 U+60E8

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

忄 (semantic, “heart”) + 参 (phonetic, cān)

components: 忄参

wretched · Heisig RSH #1309

state of mind + brawl

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 参

Siblings built with the same phonetic component 参 (cān) — compare how they read:

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
参 sound component	cān	to take part in, to intervene; ginseng
渗	shèn	to seep, to permeate, to infiltrate
掺	chān	to mix, to blend, to adulterate
碜	chěn	gritty
糁	sǎn	to mix; a grain of rice
毵	sān	long feathers; scraggy
骖	cān	the two outside horses in a team of four
黪	cǎn	grey-black

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
惨无人道	cǎn wú rén dào	inhuman (idiom); brutal and unfeeling
四一二惨案	sì yī èr cǎn àn	the massacre of 12th Mar 1927; the Shanghai coup of 12th Mar 1927 by Chiang Kai-shek again…
伤心惨目	shāng xīn cǎn mù	(idiom) too appalling to look at
惨白	cǎn bái	deathly pale
惨事	cǎn shì	disaster
悲惨世界	Bēi cǎn Shì jiè	Les Misérables (1862) by Victor Hugo 維克多·雨果\|维克多·雨果[Wei2 ke4 duo1 · Yu3 guo3]
惨红	cǎn hóng	dark red
惨重	cǎn zhòng	disastrous
惨淡经营	cǎn dàn jīng yíng	to manage by painstaking effort (idiom)
惨死	cǎn sǐ	to die tragically; to meet with a violent death
惨然	cǎn rán	grieved; distressed
惨不忍闻	cǎn bù rěn wén	(idiom) dreadful to hear
惨变	cǎn biàn	calamitous turn of events; (of one's complexion) to change markedly due to shock, illness …
惨毒	cǎn dú	cruel; vicious
绿惨红愁	lǜ cǎn hóng chóu	(of women) grieved appearance (idiom); sorrowful mien
惨杀	cǎn shā	to slaughter; to kill mercilessly
惨笑	cǎn xiào	bitter smile
惨状	cǎn zhuàng	devastation; miserable condition
惨案	cǎn àn	massacre; tragedy; CL:起[qi3]
卖惨	mài cǎn	(coll.) to play up one's misfortune to gain sympathy; to fish for pity