缠 (chán): to wind around

Meanings

1 to wind around
2 to wrap
3 to tangle
4 to pester

Characters

缠

chán

to wind; to wrap; to pester

Examples

绳子缠在一起了。

Shéngzi chán zài yīqǐ le.

The ropes got tangled together.

小孩子总是缠着妈妈。

Xiǎoháizi zǒngshì chán zhe māma.

The little kid always pesters his mom.

她把丝带缠在手上。

Tā bǎ sīdài chán zài shǒushàng.

She wound the ribbon around her hand.

Tips

usage

缠 has both physical (to wind/wrap) and figurative (to pester/nag) meanings. 缠着 + person = pestering someone.

memory

The 纟 (silk) radical hints at wrapping thread around something — the core meaning of winding/tangling.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk; thread (radical)

Left radical 纟 is the simplified side-form of 糸 (silk thread). Marks 缠 as something done with thread or rope: the act of wrapping, winding, tangling. Same radical anchors the textile and binding family — 红 (red), 线 (line), 织 (weave), 绑 (tie), 结 (knot), 绕 (wind around).

phonetic

㢆 chán

to enclose under a roof (phonetic)

Right phonetic 㢆 (the simplified form of 廛, 'building plot, dwelling enclosure') supplies the full sound chán with no drift. The traditional 纏 used the more elaborate 廛 here. The combination pictures threads winding round and round inside an enclosure — exactly the modern senses 'wind, wrap, tangle, pester'.