遜
- to be humble, modest;
- to yield;
Etymology
It is a phono-semantic compound, formed from:
辶 (chwak/착, “to walk slowly, to go”) as the semantic element;
孫 (son, ‘grandchild’) as the phonetic element.
Usage in Korean
In modern Korean, mostly seen in 겸손 (謙遜), one of the most common words for “humility.”
Retains a formal/literary flavor outside of 겸손.
Common compounds:
겸손 (謙遜) – modesty, humility;
사손 (辭遜) – polite refusal, decline;
양손 (讓遜) – concession, yielding;
손양 (遜讓) – yielding, abdication (rare, more literary).
遜
겸손할
손
gyeomsonhal
son
Kangxi radical:162, 辵 + 10
Strokes:14
Unicode:U+905C
Cangjie input:
- 卜弓木火 (YNDF)
Composition:
- ⿺ 辶 孫