zhān

to glue; to paste

to adhere; to stick to

rice (米) + phonetic 占 = to stick, like rice paste

Rice (米) is the semantic anchor — cooked rice and rice paste have long been used as adhesives in East Asia. 占 mainly contributes the zhān sound and carries no sticky meaning here.

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To occupyPhonetic
RiceSemantic

请把这张纸在墙上。

qǐng bǎ zhè zhāng zhǐ zhān zài qiáng shàng。

Please stick this piece of paper on the wall.

他用胶水把两块木板在一起。

tā yòng jiāo shuǐ bǎ liǎng kuài mù bǎn zhān zài yì qǐ。

He used glue to stick the two pieces of wood together.

Words with 粘

魔鬼粘

mó guǐ zhān

touch fastener

不粘锅

bù zhān guō

non-stick pan

粘乎乎

nián hū hū

sticky

粘扣

zhān kòu

velcro

粘扣带

zhān kòu dài

velcro

粘接

zhān jiē

to bond

粘皮带骨

nián pí dài gǔ

(old) (idiom) muddled; indecisive; plodding

粘皮着骨

nián pí zhuó gǔ

see 粘皮帶骨|粘皮带骨[nian2 pi2 dai4 gu3]

粘稠

nián chóu

viscous; thick and sticky

粘糯

nián nuò

sticky; glutinous (mouthfeel)

粘缠

nián chán

to stick closely to

粘聚

nián jù

to cohere

More characters with 米