qiǎn
verb #18,493

Meanings

  1. 1 to dispatch; to send
  2. 2 to drive away; to dispel

Examples

Huángdì pàiqiǎn shǐzhě chūfǎng.
The emperor dispatched envoys on a diplomatic visit.
Tā yòng dúshū lái xiāoqiǎn shíjiān.
He reads to pass the time.

Tips

usage
is a bound form used in compounds: 派遣 (to dispatch), 消遣 (to pass time/amuse oneself), 遣返 (to repatriate), 排遣 (to divert/distract). Rarely used alone in modern Chinese.

Components

radical
chuò
walking; motion
The walking radical wraps around the lower-left, marking as a movement verb — sending someone off, dispatching them on a mission. It anchors the meaning and indexes with the motion family: send off, chase, advance, pursue.
phonetic
qiǎn
phonetic-body residue
The upper-right ten strokes are a fused phonetic body found only inside this small family — historically a hand clasping a stack of objects ready to be sent off. It has no productive standalone reading. The same fused shape reappears in (qiǎn, blame).

Stroke Order

qiǎn