zhē
verb HSK 7-9 #8,102

Meanings

  1. 1 to cover; to block
  2. 2 to hide; to conceal
  3. 3 to shield; to shelter

Examples

HSK 2
Tā yòng shǒu zhēzhù le yǎnjing.
She covered her eyes with her hands.
HSK 5
大树可以遮风挡雨
Zhè kē dàshù kěyǐ zhēfēng dǎngyǔ.
This big tree can shelter from wind and rain.
HSK 6
Wūyún zhēzhù le tàiyáng.
Dark clouds blocked the sun.

Tips

usage
Common compounds: 遮住 (zhēzhù, block/cover completely), 遮挡 (zhēdǎng, shield), 遮阳 (zhēyáng, shade from sun), 遮掩 (zhēyǎn, conceal/cover up).
memory
The character has (movement radical) + (common people). Picture people moving to take cover - they need something to (shelter) them.

Components

radical
chuò
walk; movement
The walk radical wraps around the bottom-left and is the indexing radical. Originally a foot crossing a road, here it casts blocking and shielding as something one moves into position - stepping in to cover, hide or shelter - alongside , , .
phonetic
shù
many; multitude; common
Sits in the upper-right corner and lends the sound, drifting from shù to zhē. The multitude meaning is unrelated, though a covering crowd is a workable mnemonic - many bodies thronging together form a screen, much as means to block from view.

Stroke Order

zhē