(zhān) — to stick, to glue, to adhere

Definition

粘 (zhān) is the physical act of sticking or gluing things together with adhesive. Pairs naturally with 胶水; use 贴 when attaching something to a surface (贴 a stamp), and 粘贴 in computing ('paste').

verb
to stickto glueto adhere

Examples

  • Qǐng bǎ xìn fēng de kǒu zhān shàng.
    Please glue the flap of the envelope shut.
  • Zhè guǎn jiāo shuǐ bú tài hǎo le, zhān bú zhù.
    This tube of glue is not very good anymore — it won't hold.
  • Tā xiǎo xīn dì bǎ suì zhǐ piàn zhān zài yì qǐ.
    She carefully glued the torn pieces of paper together.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
rice
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhànzhān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粘 pairs 米 (rice) with 占, which gives the sound. The 米 part is the rice in glutinous, sticky rice.

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