栓

shuān
noun #10,926

Measure Word

一个栓 gè

Meanings

  1. 1 bolt
  2. 2 plug
  3. 3 stopper
  4. 4 pin (of a grenade)

Examples

HSK 6
Qiāng shuān kǎzhù le.
The gun bolt is jammed.
HSK 7-9
Bǎ píngzi de shuān bádiào.
Pull out the bottle stopper.

Tips

usage
栓 appears in many compound words: 枪栓 (gun bolt), 血栓 (blood clot/thrombosis), 消防栓 (fire hydrant), 手榴弹栓 (grenade pin).

Components

radical
木 mù
tree; wood
Tree radical on the left - pictograph of a tree, indexing 栓. It tells you this character names a wooden object: a peg, bolt, plug, or stopper. Same radical sits on 桩 stake, 椅 chair, 桥 bridge - everywhere wood is shaped into a thing.
phonetic
全 quán
complete; whole
Right 全 supplies the sound - quán shifts to shuān, a long phonological drift but the link is historical. 全 itself shows 人 over 王 (a person over jade), 'all kept whole.' Faint semantic bonus: a peg keeps things whole and secure when driven home into wood.

Stroke Order

栓 shuān