沾 (zhān) is a Chinese character meaning “to get wet with”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to get wet by touching”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 占
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·水部: 沾，水。出壺關東入淇。从水占聲。
Memory aid
Water (氵) creeps onto the exact spot you called (占) — whatever it reaches comes away damp. That is 沾: to get wet by touching.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 沾光zhān guāngto benefit from someone else's good fortune沾 = zhān
- 沾边zhān biānto touch on; to be close to the point沾 = zhān
Go deeper
All readings
to moisten; to be stained with
to get wet with; to be stained by; to touch lightly; to benefit from a connection
因接触而被液体或别的东西附着上；碰上、挨上；也指因关系而得到好处。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沾光zhān guāngto benefit from someone else's good fortune沾 = zhān
- 沾边zhān biānto touch on; to be close to the point沾 = zhān
Sound component
占 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 沾 mean?
沾 (zhān) means to get wet with; to be stained by; to touch lightly; to benefit from a connection.
How do you pronounce 沾?
It is pronounced zhān.
What parts is 沾 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·水部: 沾，水。出壺關東入淇。从水占聲。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沾 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沾?
水. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 沾?
Common ones are 沾光 and 沾边. The reading of 沾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.