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

HSK 1

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.

HSK 2

这酒里搀了水。

Zhè jiǔ lǐ chān le shuǐ.

This wine has been watered down.

HSK 4

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.

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.