p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Translate Flashcards Sign in

簪

zān
noun #76,379

Meanings

  1. 1 a hairpin (used to fasten a bun or hold a hat to the hair)
  2. 2 to stick (a flower or pin) in the hair

Examples

她用一支玉簪把头发绾成髻。
Tā yòng yì zhī yù zān bǎ tóufa wǎn chéng jì.
She fastened her hair into a bun with a jade hairpin.
白头搔更短，浑欲不胜簪。
Báitóu sāo gèng duǎn, hún yù bù shēng zān.
His white hair was so thin it could barely hold a hairpin.

Tips

culture
A long single pin worn through a bun. In Du Fu's 《春望》, hair too thin to hold a 簪 is a famous image of an old man worn down by wartime grief.

Components

radical
⺮ zhú
bamboo
Top is the bamboo radical ⺮, since early hairpins were whittled from bamboo before jade and metal ones were made.
phonetic
兂 zān
hairpin element; sound element
The body below the bamboo cap is the old hairpin graph element giving the reading 簪; it pictures a pin pushed through gathered hair, supplying both sound and meaning.

Stroke Order

簪 zān