贴 (tiē) — to stick, to paste, to post (e.g. online); to keep close to, to snuggle up to, to fit snugly; to subsidize, to provide financial support
Definition
贴 covers two distinct meanings at HSK 5: physically sticking (邮票贴在信封上 — uses 粘 for permanent glue, 张贴 for posting notices) and financially subsidizing someone (补贴/补助 are the more common nouns for a subsidy).
verb
to stickto pasteto post (e.g. online)to keep close toto snuggle up toto fit snuglyto subsidizeto provide financial support
Examples
- 贴。Tā bǎ yóu piào tiē zài xìn fēng shàng le.He stuck the stamp on the envelope.
- 贴。Xiǎo gǒu xǐ huan tiē zhe zhǔ rén.The little dog likes to snuggle up to its owner.
- 贴。Gōng sī měi yuè tiē tā wǔ bǎi kuài qián.The company subsidizes him 500 yuan a month.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 貼; 贴 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn貼tiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 貼 pairs 貝, a shell, with 占 as a sound part; the simplified 贴 is a later shorthand.
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