鑽 meaning and stroke order
Diamond; to bore, to drill, to pierce
How to write 鑽, stroke by stroke
26 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
Meaning of 鑽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to drill
- to bore
- to get into
- to make one's way into
- to enter (a hole)
- to thread one's way through
- drill; auger
- diamond
How 鑽 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Metal.
釒 gives the meaning and 贊 hints at the sound.
Radical: 釒 (gold), shared by 135 characters on this site.
How to remember 鑽
The metal radical 釒 on the left shows a metal tool, and 贊 (zàn) on the right gives a similar sound. Picture a metal drill boring its way in, which is where the sense zuān, to drill, comes from.
Read it zuān when it is a verb meaning to drill or squeeze into somewhere. Read it zuàn when it is a noun meaning a drill or a diamond. Example: 小猫钻进了箱子里。(Xiǎo māo zuānjìn le xiāngzi lǐ.) The kitten crawled into the box.
Common mistake: Learners often use one tone for every word. It is zuàn (fourth tone) in 钻石 (zuànshí) and 钻戒 (zuànjiè), but zuān (first tone) in 钻研 (zuānyán) and 钻进 (zuānjìn).
Common words with 鑽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鑽石 | zuànshí | diamond | HSK 7-9 |
| 鑽研 | zuānyán | to study meticulously; to delve into | HSK 7-9 |
| 鑽空子 | zuān kòngzi | to take advantage of a loophole; to exploit an advantage; to seize the opportunity (esp. t | HSK 7-9 |
| 鑽進 | zuānjìn | to get into; to dig into (studies, job etc) | |
| 鑽頭 | zuàntóu | drill bit | |
| 鑽井 | zuānjǐng | to drill (e.g. for oil); a borehole | |
| 鑽戒 | zuànjiè | diamond ring | |
| 鑽洞 | zuāndòng | to bore; to burrow | |
| 鑽探 | zuāntàn | to conduct exploratory drilling | |
| 鑽孔 | zuānkǒng | to bore a hole; to drill |
Questions about 鑽
How many strokes are in 鑽?
鑽 is written with 26 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鑽 mean?
鑽 (zuān) means diamond; to bore, to drill, to pierce. A common word with it is 钻石 (zuànshí), meaning "diamond".
How do you pronounce 鑽?
鑽 is pronounced zuān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鑽?
The radical of 鑽 is 釒, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 鑽 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鑽?
鑽 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 钻, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Does 钻 mean a diamond when it stands alone?
On its own, 钻 usually means the verb zuān, to drill or squeeze into. For diamond, people normally say 钻石 (zuànshí). In jewelry ads you may see 钻 used alone as a short form.
What does 钻牛角尖 mean?
钻牛角尖 (zuān niújiǎojiān) means to get stuck on a small or pointless detail. Literally it is to crawl into the tip of an ox horn. It is an everyday saying, and it is usually critical.