摊 (tān): vendor's stall

Measure Word

一个摊 gè

Meanings

1 vendor's stall
2 booth
3 to spread out
4 to share (costs)

Examples

HSK 2

路边有很多卖水果的小摊。

Lùbiān yǒu hěnduō mài shuǐguǒ de xiǎotān.

There are many small fruit stalls on the roadside.

HSK 3

费用大家一起摊吧。

Fèiyòng dàjiā yīqǐ tān ba.

Let's share the costs among everyone.

Tips

usage

摊 has multiple uses: as a noun it means 'stall/booth' (小摊, 地摊); as a verb it means 'to spread out' (摊开) or 'to share/apportion' (分摊).

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left-side hand radical - three strokes condensed from 手, the indexing component. Puts 摊 in the manual-action family with 打 to hit, 拉 to pull, 推 to push, 摆 to lay out. The core idea is using hands to spread something flat - a market stall of goods, or a difficult situation laid bare.

phonetic

难 nán

difficult (here phonetic)

Right 难 supplies the sound - nán shifts to tān, an attested n-/t- alternation in this phonetic family. Don't pull 'difficult' into the meaning. The traditional form 攤 used phonetic 難; simplified just inherits the streamlined right side.