shuān
noun #10,926

Measure Word

一个

Meanings

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

Examples

Bǎ píngzi de shuān bádiào.
Pull out the bottle stopper.
Qiāng shuān kǎzhù le.
The gun bolt is jammed.

Tips

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

Components

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

Stroke Order

shuān