钻 (zuàn) · drill; auger

Meanings

1 drill; auger
2 diamond

Characters

钻

zuàn

drill; auger

Examples

HSK 7-9

他送了她一枚钻戒。

Tā sòng le tā yì méi zuànjiè.

He gave her a diamond ring.

HSK 7-9

电钻可以快速打孔。

Diànzuàn kěyǐ kuàisù dǎkǒng.

An electric drill can make holes quickly.

HSK 7-9

这块钻石很值钱。

Zhèkuài zuànshí hěn zhíqián.

This diamond is very valuable.

Tips

usage

zuàn is the noun reading. Two main meanings: the drill tool (电钻 power drill, 冲击钻 hammer drill, 钻头 drill bit) and the hardest natural material we use as a drilling tip - diamond (钻石 diamond, 钻戒 diamond ring). The link is industrial: a diamond is what you put on the tip of the drill.

memory

Verb = zuān (drill action). Noun = zuàn (drill tool, or the diamond stone we make drill tips from). Same character, just tone flipping between the action and the thing.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal (radical form of 金)

Metal radical - the indexing radical. Even more on the nose for this reading than the verb sense: zuàn names the drill itself (a metal tool) or the diamond used as its cutting tip. Same metal-tool family: 钉 (nail), 钩 (hook), 钳 (pliers).

phonetic

占 zhàn

to occupy; to divine

Phonetic 占 again - zhàn to zuàn for this reading. The tone-only distinction between zuān (verb) and zuàn (noun) is a textbook example of Chinese using tone alone to flip word class on a single graph.