盏 meaning and stroke order
A small cup; classifier for lamps
How to write 盏, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 盏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- a small cup
- classifier for lamps
How 盏 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A small 戋 dish 皿; 戋 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 皿 (dish), shared by 28 characters on this site.
How to remember 盏
The top part 戋 means small, and the bottom part 皿 is a dish or vessel. Put them together and you get 盏 (zhǎn), a small dish or cup, and 戋 also hints at the sound.
Today 盏 is used mostly as a measure word for lamps and lights. It also appears in a few words for small cups, like 酒盏 (jiǔzhǎn, small wine cup) and 茶盏 (cházhǎn, small tea cup). Example: 桌上有一盏灯。(Zhuō shang yǒu yì zhǎn dēng.) There is a lamp on the table.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top as 钱 or 浅 without noticing that 盏 uses only the bare 戋 part, with no side radical. Some also use 个 (gè) for lamps where 盏 sounds more natural, especially in writing.
盏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 盏
How many strokes are in 盏?
盏 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 盏 mean?
盏 (zhǎn) means a small cup; classifier for lamps.
How do you pronounce 盏?
盏 is pronounced zhǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 盏?
The radical of 盏 is 皿, which carries the idea of "dish". Dictionaries list 盏 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 盏?
The traditional form of 盏 is 盞. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 盏 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 盏 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 盏 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 盏 be used for things other than lamps?
Yes, it works for lights in general, such as 一盏路灯 (yì zhǎn lùdēng, a streetlight) or 一盏红灯 (a red light). In older or literary style it can also count cups of tea or wine, as in 一盏茶 (yì zhǎn chá).
How is 盏 different from 杯 (bēi) for cups?
杯 is the everyday word for a cup or glass. 盏 for cups sounds old-fashioned or literary and suggests a small, shallow cup, so you will see it more in classical texts, poems, and tea culture.