掺 (chān): to mix in

Meanings

1 to mix in
2 to blend
3 to adulterate

Characters

掺

chān

to mix in; to adulterate

Examples

HSK 7-9

有些商家在牛奶里掺水。

Yǒuxiē shāngjiā zài niúnǎi lǐ chān shuǐ.

Some merchants add water to milk.

HSK 7-9

别在面粉里掺别的东西。

Bié zài miànfěn lǐ chān biéde dōngxi.

Don't mix other things into the flour.

HSK 7-9

这种酒掺了很多添加剂。

Zhèzhǒng jiǔ chān le hěnduō tiānjiājì.

This wine has been adulterated with many additives.

Tips

usage

掺 often implies adulteration - adding something to dilute or degrade quality: 掺水 (water down), 掺假 (adulterate with fakes). 掺和 (chānhuo) colloquially means to get mixed up in something or to butt in.

mistakes

Don't confuse 掺 (chān, to mix/adulterate) with 搀 (chān, to support by the arm). They are homophones but have very different meanings.

register

Modern usage is read chān for the 'mix in' sense. A separate reading shǎn means to grasp or hold; it survives only in classical poetry and has no modern compounds.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left-side hand radical - the indexing radical, the side-form of 手. Files 掺 with the family of mixing/stirring/manipulating verbs: 拌 (mix), 搅 (stir), 抓 (grab), 挑 (pick). The radical pins down 'hand actively combining things' as the core action of 掺.

phonetic

参 cān

to participate; ginseng

Right-side 参 supplies the sound, with cān shifting to chān in 掺 - a known phonetic drift. 参 also adds a faint semantic flavor: its 'mixing/joining' sense (as in 参与, to participate) reinforces the hand-mixing-things meaning. Same phonetic family: 渗 (seep through), 惨 (miserable), 掺 itself.