毡 (zhān) is a Chinese character meaning “felt — a thick cloth made by matting and pressing wool”. It is written from 毛 (hair; fur; feather) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “felt”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
毛 + 占
Enclosing structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代简化字形拆分（毛表义，占 zhān 表音；已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺分段核验）
Memory aid
Hair (毛) wraps itself around 占 — and 占 is read zhān, the same sound as the whole character. Wool pressed together, not woven: felt.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 毛毡máo zhānfelt (the material)毡 = zhān
- 毡子zhān zǐa felt rug or felt mat毡 = zhānspoken aszhān zi
Go deeper
All readings
felt
felt — a thick cloth made by matting and pressing wool rather than weaving it
用羊毛等压制而成的片状材料，可做垫子、帐篷。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 毛毡máo zhānfelt (the material)毡 = zhān
- 毡子zhān zǐa felt rug or felt mat毡 = zhānspoken aszhān zi
Sound component
占 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 毡 mean?
毡 (zhān) means felt — a thick cloth made by matting and pressing wool rather than weaving it.
How do you pronounce 毡?
It is pronounced zhān.
What parts is 毡 made of?
毛 (hair; fur; feather) and 占 (to divine; to occupy), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代简化字形拆分（毛表义，占 zhān 表音；已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺分段核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 毡 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 毡?
毛. 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 毡?
Common ones are 毛毡 and 毡子. The reading of 毡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.