King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “ruthless”

狠
hěn
ruthless; fierce; ferocious; determined; resolute; to harden (one's heart); old variant of 很 (hěn)

The closest CC-CEDICT match for ruthless is 狠 (hěn), defined as: ruthless; fierce; ferocious; determined; resolute; to harden (one's heart); old variant of 很 (hěn).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

狠 hěn
vicious, fierce, cruel
radical 94 ⽝ · 9 strokes

Other Chinese words for “ruthless”

WordPinyinMeaning
酷kùruthless; strong (e.g. of wine)
暴戾bào lìruthless
残忍 (殘忍)cán rěncruel; merciless; ruthless
残暴 (殘暴)cán bàobrutal; vicious; ruthless
无情 (無情)wú qíngpitiless; ruthless

Related words

Other words that share a character with 狠.

WordPinyinMeaning
狠狠hěn hěnresolutely; firmly
凶狠 (兇狠)xiōng hěnvariant of 凶狠 (xiōng hěn)
狠心hěn xīncallous; heartless; to resolve (to do sth)
狠毒hěn dúvicious; malicious
心狠手辣xīn hěn shǒu là(idiom) vicious; merciless

See also: Japanese symbol for “ruthless”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Choosing a Wooden Practice Dagger for Partner Drills
  2. Best Action-Flex Padded Weapons for Safe Sparring
  3. Best Escrima Sticks for Tall Practitioners by Reach
  4. Buying Bulk Rattan Sticks for Classes on a Budget
  5. Best Escrima Sticks for Kids Under Ten
  6. How Many Kali Sticks Should You Own for Training
  7. Best Stick Striking Gear Tire Stands vs Training Dummies
  8. Best Forearm Guards for Stick Drills and Impact Protection
  9. Best Burned-Pattern Rattan Sticks for Gift Giving
  10. Choosing a Stick-Fighting Helmet for Club Sparring