Chinese character 稳

It means steady or certain, depending on the sentence.

For a situation or plan, it can mean stable, safe, or in order; for a person, composed; for a result, secure or certain. As a verb, it can mean to stabilize or arrange something. A Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary entry from 2024 records an older grain-processing gloss—“treading grain so it gathers”—in the “new appendix” transmitted with Shuowen, an early Chinese character dictionary, not in its original text.

A Chinese-character database checked in 2026 analyzes traditional 穩 as 禾 plus an abbreviated form of 隱. This describes parts of the traditional form; it does not establish a dated progression from grain work to the character’s broader meanings.