奠

diàn
verb #64,313

Meanings

  1. 1 to establish; to lay (a foundation)
  2. 2 to make offerings to the dead

Examples

HSK 5
Zhège fāxiàn wèi xiàndài wùlǐxué diàndìng le jīchǔ.
This discovery laid the foundation for modern physics.
HSK 7-9
Rénmen qiánlái jìdiàn shìzhě.
People came to mourn and pay their respects to the deceased.

Tips

usage
Two senses of 奠: to firmly establish, as in 奠定 (to lay a foundation) and 奠基 (to lay a cornerstone); and to make a funeral offering, as in 祭奠 (to hold a memorial).

Components

semantic
酋 qiú
a wine vessel; chief
酋 on top is a jar of wine. The character pictures wine set down as an offering, the source of both 'to make an offering' and, by extension, 'to set firmly in place'.
ideograph
大 dà
big; a stand
The 大-shaped base below acts as the table or stand on which the wine jar is placed steadily, reinforcing the idea of setting something down firmly.

Stroke Order

奠 diàn