残

• Pinyin: cán
• Hanzi breakdown: 残 = 歹 (skeleton/evil radical, implying damage or death) + 戋 (phonetic component suggesting something diminished)

Meaning

To harm or injure; to damage or destroy. Also used as an adjective meaning incomplete, broken, waning, or physically disabled. A morpheme that appears in many compound words related to damage, cruelty, or remnants.

As a standalone character, 残 appears mainly in literary contexts or as a productive morpheme in compounds: 残忍 (cruel), 残缺 (incomplete), 残留 (residual), 残酷 (brutal), 残阳 (fading sun), 摧残 (to devastate). In classical poetry, 残 evokes the fading or waning of things — 残阳 (dying sun), 残月 (waning moon). The sense of 'disability' is largely expressed by 残疾 in modern usage.

Examples

1. 战争不仅摧毁了城市的建筑，更深深摧残了那一代人的精神与心理。 The war not only destroyed the city's buildings but also deeply devastated the spirit and mental health of that entire generation.
2. 古战场上的残垣断壁在夕阳下静静伫立，诉说着那段历史的沉重。 The crumbling walls of the ancient battlefield stand silently in the setting sun, speaking to the weight of that period in history.
3. 身残志坚四个字，浓缩了无数在逆境中依然不肯屈服的人的精神写照。 The phrase 'disabled in body but firm in will' captures the spirit of countless people who refused to be defeated even in adversity.

Usage Guide

Context: literary, history, human condition, poetry

Tone: somber

Do Say

• 这场灾难深深摧残了当地的生态环境。(This disaster severely devastated the local ecological environment.)
• 残阳如血，映照着这座千年古城的轮廓。(The dying sun, red as blood, cast its light over the silhouette of this thousand-year-old city.)

Don't Say

• 这个食物残了。(Don't use 残 for spoiled food — use 坏了 or 变质了 instead)

Origin & History

残 = 歹 (skeleton/evil radical, implying death, damage, or deterioration) + 戋 (phonetic component, also suggesting thinness or smallness). The character fundamentally conveys damage, deterioration, or destruction.

Cultural Context

Generation: Literary/educated

Social background: Educated