zhān
verb HSK 7-9 #3,010

Meanings

  1. 1 to stick
  2. 2 to paste
  3. 3 to glue

Examples

Bǎ yóupiào zhān zài xìnfēng shàng.
Stick the stamp on the envelope.
Zhège jiāoshuǐ zhān de hěn láo.
This glue sticks very firmly.

Tips

usage
has two pronunciations: zhān (to stick/paste) and nián (sticky, as an adjective). In practice, many speakers use nián for both meanings.

Components

radical
rice; grain
Rice radical on the left — also 's indexing radical (Kangxi #119). Direct semantic anchor: originally referred to the stickiness of cooked glutinous rice. From boiled grain came all the modern 'sticky, adhere, paste' senses. Same radical in (powder), (sugar), (cake), (rice dumpling).
phonetic
zhān
divine; occupy
Right side supplies the sound directly: zhān → zhān (or nián, an alternate reading). Same phonetic in (zhàn), (zhàn), (zhān), (zuān/zuàn), (tiē/tiě) — the cluster spans zh-/n- readings, with a faint l/n alternation pattern echoed in nián. Sound only; no semantic contribution from 'divine.'

Stroke Order

zhān