展

zhǎn
verb #4,966

Meanings

  1. 1 to unfold; to exhibit
  2. 2 to develop; to expand

Examples

HSK 3
Zhōngguó fāzhǎn hěnkuài.
China is developing very quickly.
HSK 5
Zhǎnlǎn hěn yǒuyìsi.
The exhibition is very interesting.
HSK 6
Zhǎnshì nǐ de cáihuá.
Show off your talent.

Tips

usage
展 is very productive: 发展 (to develop), 展览 (exhibition), 展示 (to display), 展开 (to unfold/launch), 展望 (to look ahead).

Components

radical
尸 shī
body; reclining figure
Top-left indexing radical 尸 - originally a pictograph of a person reclining or seated. In 展 it represents a figure stretching out, unfolding. Same family of body/posture characters: 屈 (bend), 居 (dwell), 屋 (house), 尾 (tail) - all use 尸 as the body silhouette.
semantic
衣 yī
clothing; cloth
The inner-bottom area collapses an older 衣 (cloth) plus a now-fused unfolding element into a single unit; the bottom four strokes preserve the cloth silhouette. The compound reads as 'a body unfolding cloth/garments' - the prototype image of an exhibition. The fused middle is best learned as one block, not split further.

Stroke Order

展 zhǎn