沾 zhān — infected by; moisten; receive favors; moisten
他不小心把油沾到了衣服上。Tā bù xiǎo xīn bǎ yóu zhān dào le yī fu shàng.He accidentally got oil on his clothes.
Common words: 沾光 (zhān guāng)、沾边 (zhān biān)、沾满 (zhān mǎn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "moisten"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "moisten", including 沾 (zhān), 沾 (zhān). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "moisten" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 沾 (zhān), 沾 (zhān) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters happen to share the reading zhān, so lean on the words and written forms to tell them apart. The example sentences further down show how 沾 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 沾 zhāninfected by; moisten; receive favors; moistenUseful words: 沾光, 沾边
- 沾 zhāninfected by; moisten; receive favors; moistenUseful words: 沾光, 沾边
Common words for these 2 "moisten" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 沾 (zhān) — so "moisten" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
沾光zhān guāngto bask in the light; fig. to benefit from association with sb or sth; reflected glory沾边zhān biānto have a connection with; to be close (to reality); to be relevant; to have one's hand in沾满zhān mǎnmuddy; covered in (mud, dust, sweat, blood etc); daubed in沾光zhān guāngto bask in the light; fig. to benefit from association with sb or sth; reflected glory沾边zhān biānto have a connection with; to be close (to reality); to be relevant; to have one's hand in沾满zhān mǎnmuddy; covered in (mud, dust, sweat, blood etc); daubed in
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "moisten".
沾 zhān — infected by; moisten; receive favors; moisten
他不小心把油沾到了衣服上。Tā bù xiǎo xīn bǎ yóu zhān dào le yī fu shàng.He accidentally got oil on his clothes.
Common words: 沾光 (zhān guāng)、沾边 (zhān biān)、沾满 (zhān mǎn)
All 2 characters
Open 沾、沾 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.