敢 from HSK Level 3 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 敢 (gǎn) is composed of two parts: the radical 心 (xīn), which means "heart" or "mind", and the phonetic component 敢 (gǎn), which is a simplified form of the character 敢 (gǎn), meaning "to dare" or "to venture". The character 敢 (gǎn) first appeared in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In oracle bone script, the character 敢 (gǎn) was written as a combination of the radical 心 (xīn) and the phonetic component 敢 (gǎn), which was a pictograph of a person standing with their arms outstretched, representing the idea of daring or venturing.Over time, the character 敢 (gǎn) evolved in its form and meaning. In the seal script, the character 敢 (gǎn) was simplified to its current form, and its meaning expanded to include the idea of "to be brave" or "to have courage". In modern Chinese, the character 敢 (gǎn) is commonly used in the sense of "to dare" or "to venture", as well as in the sense of "to be brave" or "to have courage". It is also used in the sense of "to be presumptuous" or "to be bold", as well as in the sense of "to be willing" or "to be ready".