zhǎn
verb #4,966

Meanings

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

Examples

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

Tips

usage
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
shī
body; reclining figure
Top-left indexing radical — originally a pictograph of a person reclining or seated. In it represents a figure stretching out, unfolding. Same family of body/posture characters: (bend), (dwell), (house), (tail) — all use as the body silhouette.
semantic
clothing; cloth
The inner-bottom area collapses an older (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

zhǎn