搀 (chān): to support by the arm; to help…

Meanings

1 to support by the arm; to help someone walk
2 to mix in; to adulterate

Characters

搀

chān

to support by the arm; to mix in

Examples

他搀着奶奶过马路。

Tā chān zhe nǎinai guò mǎlù.

He helped his grandmother cross the road by holding her arm.

快搀他一把，他站不稳。

Kuài chān tā yìbǎ, tā zhàn bù wěn.

Quick, support him — he can't stand steadily.

这酒里搀了水。

Zhè jiǔ lǐ chān le shuǐ.

This wine has been watered down.

Tips

usage

搀扶 (chānfú) is the more formal version meaning 'to help someone walk by supporting their arm.' 搀假 (chānjiǎ) means to adulterate goods (mixing in inferior ingredients) — a completely different meaning from the 'support' sense.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

扌 is the left-side form of 手 (hand). 搀 means to support someone by the arm or to mix something in — both are hands-on actions, so the hand radical is the natural meaning anchor. Compare 扶 (support), 搅 (stir), 掺 (mix in).

phonetic

免 miǎn

avoid; exempt

免 (miǎn) supplies the sound, drifted heavily to chān. The right side is a contracted nine-stroke form: traditional 攙 had the rabbit-watching phonetic 毚 (chán) here, simplified to 免 plus a two-stroke residue (trailing dots). Read this slot as a stylised remnant of 毚.