贴 (tiē) is a Chinese character meaning “to stick”. It is written from 贝 (shell) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to stick; to paste”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
贝 + 占
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：贝 4 画 + 占 5 画 = 9 画）
Memory aid
Money (贝) held in place (占) — the shell-coin stays stuck where it was put. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 贴纸tiē zhǐsticker贴 = tiē
- 贴心tiē xīnthoughtful; considerate; close to one's heart贴 = tiē
- 津贴jīn tiēallowance; subsidy贴 = tiē
- 粘贴zhān tiēto paste; to stick on贴 = tiē
Go deeper
All readings
to stick; to paste
to stick; to paste; to attach; to stay close to; an allowance or subsidy
把东西粘在另一样东西上；紧挨着；也指补助的钱。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 贴纸tiē zhǐsticker贴 = tiē
- 贴心tiē xīnthoughtful; considerate; close to one's heart贴 = tiē
- 津贴jīn tiēallowance; subsidy贴 = tiē
- 粘贴zhān tiēto paste; to stick on贴 = tiē
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 贴 mean?
贴 (tiē) means to stick; to paste; to attach; to stay close to; an allowance or subsidy.
How do you pronounce 贴?
It is pronounced tiē.
What parts is 贴 made of?
贝 (shell) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：贝 4 画 + 占 5 画 = 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 贴 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 贴?
贝. 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 贴?
Common ones are 贴纸 and 贴心. The reading of 贴 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.