勇敢
yǒnggǎn
The Chinese word for brave is 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn).
勇敢 is an adjective used to describe someone who is strong in the face of fear. If you wish to use it as an adverb to describe an action, meaning 'bravely', you should add the particle 地 after it, forming 勇敢地.
Meaning: strong in the face of fear (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of two parts: 勇 (yǒng), meaning 'brave' or 'valiant' and 敢 (gǎn), meaning 'to dare'.
Which one should you use?
While 勇敢 implies moral courage or heroism, the term 胆大 (dǎndà) carries a different connotation. Literally meaning 'big gallbladder', 胆大 often implies being daring, reckless or audacious rather than heroically brave.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using 勇敢 as an adjective to describe a person, it is common to place an adverb of degree like 很 (hěn, very) before it instead of using the verb 'to be'.
How do you pronounce it?
yǒnggǎn
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, courage is often physically located in the gallbladder rather than the heart. This is why a person who is reckless or overconfident is described as having a 'big gallbladder' (胆大), a concept reflected in the way courage is discussed.
- In classical Chinese literature, bravery was often linked to the concept of 义 (yì), meaning righteousness, implying that true bravery must be used for a moral cause.
- The opposite of 勇敢 is often 胆小 (dǎnxiǎo), which literally translates to 'small gallbladder'.
Examples in context
- 我沒那麼勇敢。I'm not so brave.This sentence shows how to use 勇敢 in a negative context.Tatoeba #5663520 by verdastelo9604, translation #2549311 by CK
- 我觉得她很勇敢。I think she is very brave.This sentence demonstrates using an adverb of degree with 勇敢.Tatoeba #3378003 by GlossaMatik, translation #3378004 by CM
- 我不像湯姆那樣勇敢。I'm not as brave as Tom.This sentence shows how to use 勇敢 in a comparison.Tatoeba #6105278 by verdastelo9604, translation #5938964 by CK
- 他勇敢地面对了挑战He bravely faced the challenge.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Junjie and Jiayi are talking about a scary movie.
- 俊杰 Junjie你敢看这部恐怖电影吗？Nǐ gǎn kàn zhè bù kǒngbù diànyǐng ma?Do you dare to watch this horror movie?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我不行，我没有那么勇敢。Wǒ bùxíng, wǒ méiyǒu nàme yǒnggǎn.I can't, I'm not that brave.
- 俊杰 Junjie别担心，我会陪着你的。Bié dānxīn, wǒ huì péizhe nǐ de.Don't worry, I will be with you.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好吧，那我现在试着勇敢一点。Hǎo ba, nà wǒ xiànzài shìzhe yǒnggǎn yīdiǎn.Alright, I'll try to be a little braver now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “brave” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
