遜 means “modest, yielding, inferior”

そん · son

Also: humble

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): したがう, へりくだる, ゆずる
On'yomi (Chinese reading): ソン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 13 strokes

The story

A grandchild (孫) on the road (辶): picture a child stepping aside to let the elders walk first. 遜 is yielding: 謙遜 is modesty, 不遜 is arrogance, and 遜色ない, 'no shade of inferiority', means something holds its own against the best.

Used in 謙遜 (kenson, modesty), 不遜 (fuson, arrogant/insolent), and 遜色 (sonshoku, inferiority)

遜 means “modest, yielding, inferior”

The story

More from Modest & Kind