钻 (zuān): to drill; to bore into

Meanings

1 to drill; to bore into
2 to go through; to squeeze into
3 to study intensively; to dig into

Characters

钻

zuān

to drill; to bore into

Examples

他钻进了被窝里。

Tā zuānjìn le bèiwō lǐ.

He burrowed into the blankets.

小猫钻进了箱子里。

Xiǎo māo zuānjìn le xiāngzi lǐ.

The kitten squeezed into the box.

他喜欢钻研数学。

Tā xǐhuān zuānyán shùxué.

He likes to study mathematics deeply.

别钻牛角尖。

Bié zuānniújiǎojiān.

Don't get hung up on trivial details.

Tips

usage

zuān is the verb reading: to drill, bore, burrow, squeeze in, or by extension to dig into a subject intellectually. 钻洞 (drill a hole), 钻研 (study deeply), 钻进 (squeeze into). The reading flips to zuàn when 钻 becomes a noun — the tool or its material (see the diamond/drill entry).

culture

钻牛角尖 (zuān niújiǎojiān, lit. 'drill into the tip of a bull's horn') is a very common idiom for getting stuck on a trivial point or refusing to back off from a hopeless line of thought — the bull's horn tapers to a dead-end, and you have drilled all the way to where there is no more room.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal (radical form of 金)

Left-side metal radical — the indexing radical, simplified left-form of 金. Names the material of the drill bit: a hardened metal point that bores through stone or wood. Same family of metal-tool/object chars: 铁 (iron), 银 (silver), 铜 (copper), 钉 (nail), 钩 (hook).

phonetic

占 zhàn

to occupy; to divine

Right-side 占 supplies the sound — zhàn shifting to zuān in 钻, a notable rime change but the same phonetic series. 占 originally pictured a divination crack 卜 over a mouth 口 — a faint mnemonic for 'piercing into the unknown'. Phonetic family: 站 (stand), 战 (battle), 粘 (stick), 沾 (dip).