虽 suī although
How to remember 虽: 口 mouth + 虫 insect = although. The girl claps a hand over her mouth at the insect on her plate, then keeps eating her salad, although much more slowly.
Component breakdown
虽 = 口 mouth + 虫 insect
- 口 mouth
- 虫 insect
The girl claps a hand over her mouth at the insect on her plate, then keeps eating her salad, although much more slowly.
How it came to be
The full form is a short-tailed bird with an insect beside it. It named a kind of lizard and was borrowed for the joining word; nothing of the animal is left in its use.
How it is used
- Half of 虽然 (suīrán, although) - sets up a concession that 但是/可是 answers: 虽然贵，但是好 (suīrán guì, dànshì hǎo) pricey, but good.
- Rarely stands alone in speech; 虽然 is the everyday form, 虽 solo (or 虽说 suīshuō) feels more written/terse.
- Trap: English drops the 'but', Chinese keeps it - you need the second clause word (但是) too.
Characters built with 虽
Words with 虽
Example sentences
- 虽然跑得很累，但是很多人都没有放弃。 Suīrán pǎo de hěn lèi, dànshì hěn duō rén dōu méiyǒu fàngqì.Though exhausted from running, many refused to give up.