Chinese symbol for “timid”
怯懦
qiè nuò
timid; cowardly; chicken-hearted
The closest CC-CEDICT match for timid is 怯懦 (qiè nuò), defined as: timid; cowardly; chicken-hearted.
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
Other Chinese words for “timid”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 怯 | qiè | timid; cowardly |
| 怕事 | pà shì | timid; to be afraid of getting involved |
| 怯弱 | qiè ruò | timid; weak |
| 胆小 (膽小) | dǎn xiǎo | cowardice; timid |
| 胆怯 (膽怯) | dǎn qiè | timidity; timid |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 怯懦.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 胆怯 (膽怯) | dǎn qiè | timidity; timid |
| 羞怯 | xiū qiè | shy; timid |
| 怯场 (怯場) | qiè chǎng | to have stage fright |
| 怯弱 | qiè ruò | timid; weak |
| 畏怯 | wèi qiè | timorous; nervous |
| 懦弱 | nuò ruò | cowardly; weak |
| 懦夫 | nuò fū | coward |
| 愚懦 | yú nuò | ignorant and timid |
See also: Japanese symbol for “timid”.
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.