Chinese Tattoo 贤: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 贤 means "virtuous, worthy, good; able" and is pronounced xián. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 贤 |
| Pinyin | xián |
| Meaning | virtuous, worthy, good; able |
| Strokes | 8 |
| Radical | ⾙ (No. 154) |
Words that contain 贤
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 贤惠 | xián huì | variant of 贤慧 | old-6 |
| 圣贤 | shèng xián | a sage | newest-7 |
| 先贤 | xian1 xian2 | (literary) ancient sage | — |
| 前贤 | qian2 xian2 | sages of the past; worthy predecessors | — |
| 贤人 | xian2 ren2 | great person of the past | — |
| 贤内助 | xian2 nei4 zhu4 | (said of sb else's wife) a good wife | — |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Characters sharing the ⾙ radical
All of these share the ⾙ radical, so they are visually related — useful when you compare designs.
Placing 贤
贤 has 8 strokes — enough detail to survive a smaller placement, but not so much that it closes up. It is a practical size for a forearm, calf or upper arm. Agree the final stencil size with your artist before the appointment. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 贤
贤 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “virtuous, worthy, good; able”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 贤 mean?
贤 (xián) means “virtuous, worthy, good; able”.
How is 贤 pronounced?
贤 is pronounced xián in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 贤 have?
贤 has 8 strokes, under the ⾙ radical (No. 154).
How large should a 贤 tattoo be?
With 8 strokes, 贤 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 贤?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 贤 common in modern Chinese?
It appears in everyday words such as 贤惠、圣贤、先贤, though it is more often used inside compounds than alone.
Should I use simplified or traditional 贤?
贤 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 贤 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
✦ Get this designNot ready? Browse more characters · All 150+ characters
Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this