Chord chart

Cdim Chord on Guitar: 3 Easy Ways to Play C Diminished (Charts)

Cdim chord charts with finger numbers, an easier version, the notes and intervals, and the keys and progressions that use it. Also searched as cdim chord, cdim guitar chord and how to play Cdim.

By David Sandy, guitar player and founder of Sandy Music Lab. Every chord shape on this page is checked note by note against the chord's formula.

Cdim chord diagram, Easy 3-string versionCdim Easy 3-string version: low E muted, A muted, D muted, G fret 5, B fret 4, high e fret 2.×××431x x x 5 4 2
Easy 3-string version
x x x 5 4 2
Cdim chord diagram, Movable shape (3rd fret)Cdim Movable shape (3rd fret): low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 4, G fret 5, B fret 4, high e muted.×1243×x 3 4 5 4 x
Movable shape (3rd fret)
x 3 4 5 4 x
Cdim chord diagram, Movable shape (7th fret)Cdim Movable shape (7th fret): low E muted, A muted, D fret 10, G fret 8, B fret 7, high e fret 8.7fr××4213x x 10 8 7 8
Movable shape (7th fret)
x x 10 8 7 8

Numbers are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky, T thumb). × = don't play that string, ○ = play it open. A long bar is a barre: one finger flat across those strings. Strings run low E (left) to high e (right).

Chord chart by Sandy Music Lab

Quick answer: To play Cdim (C diminished) on guitar, play x x x 5 4 2 from the low E string to the high e string (the easy 3-string version shape). The chord contains C, Eb, Gb. If that is hard, use the easier shape x 3 4 5 4 x, which needs 4 fretted notes.

Cdim chord facts

Chord Cdim (C diminished)
Other names C°, Cdim triad
Notes C, Eb, Gb
Intervals C (root), Eb (minor 3rd), Gb (diminished 5th)
Formula 1-b3-b5
Difficulty Beginner (easy version) to intermediate (full shape)
Shapes on this page 3

How do you play Cdim on guitar?

The main shape is x x x 5 4 2 (Easy 3-string version). Finger by finger:

  1. Put your index finger (1) on the high e string at fret 2 (Gb, the diminished 5th).
  2. Put your ring finger (3) on the B string at fret 4 (Eb, the minor 3rd).
  4. Put your pinky (4) on the G string at fret 5 (C, the root).
  5. Don't play the low E and A and D stri