捐 (juān) · to donate; to contribute

Meanings

1 to donate; to contribute
2 to give (to charity)

Characters

捐

juān

to donate; to contribute

Examples

HSK 2

他捐了一百万给学校。

Tā juān le yìbǎiwàn gěi xuéxiào.

He donated one million to the school.

HSK 4

很多人捐了血。

Hěnduō rén juān le xuè.

Many people donated blood.

HSK 7-9

请大家踊跃捐款。

Qǐng dàjiā yǒngyuè juānkuǎn.

Everyone please donate generously.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 捐款 (donate money), 捐助 (donate/aid), 捐赠 (donate as a gift), 捐血/献血 (donate blood). 募捐 = to fundraise/solicit donations.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (left-side radical form of 手)

Left 扌 is the hand radical, side-form of 手. Marks 捐 as a manual action - the literal sense was 'to cast off', the gesture of a hand letting something go. From release came the modern 'donate' sense and 'tax' (forced release). Same hand-action family: 推 push, 拉 pull, 拿 take, 抛 toss.

phonetic

肙 yuān

small worm (here phonetic)

Right 肙 supplies the sound - yuān shifting to juān through Old Chinese palatalization. The same phonetic spawns 涓 juān trickle, 鹃 juān cuckoo, 娟 juān graceful - the whole juān-rhyme cluster. Pure phonetic role; 肙 's original 'tiny worm' meaning contributes nothing to 'donate / cast off'.