Definition
蘸 (zhàn) means 'to dip' — deliberately immersing something into a liquid or powder to coat or pick some up (e.g., dip bread in olive oil). It differs from 沾 (zhān), which means to lightly touch or get a small amount on something, often accidentally (e.g., 沾水 'touch water'). 蘸 is intentional and involves submerging; 沾 is incidental and mostly surface contact.
verb
to dip (in ink, sauce, etc.)
Easily confused
- 瞧qiáolook-alike(colloquial) to look at, to see
- 站zhànsound-alikestation (bus, train, etc.)
- 站zhànsound-alike(verb) to stand
- 占zhànsound-aliketo occupy, to take up (space, time, or a position)
- 粘zhānsound-aliketo stick, to glue, to adhere
- 沾zhānsound-aliketo touch (and get something on), to come into contact with
- 盏zhǎnsound-alike(classifier) for lamps, lanterns, and other light sources (also literary: small cup)
- 斩zhǎnsound-aliketo behead (as capital punishment)
Examples
- ，蘸。Chī chūnjuǎn de shíhou, wǒ xǐhuan zhàn tián là jiàng.When eating spring rolls, I like to dip them in sweet chili sauce.
- 蘸。Tā yòng miànbāo zhàn zhe gǎnlǎn yóu chī.He dipped bread in olive oil and ate it.
- ，蘸。Zài shūfǎ kè shang, xuéshēng yào zhàn mò xiě zì.In calligraphy class, students need to dip in ink to write characters.
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