穿 (chuān) means "wear, to wear, to pierce" with 9 strokes, radical 穴 (cave), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: wear
Other meanings:
- to wear
- to pierce
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
穿 does not appear in oracle-bone script and is first attested in seal script as a compound of 穴 (cave, hole) on top and 牙 (tooth) below. The Shuowen Jiezi analyses it as boring a hole through something, with 牙 contributing both the sound and the image of a tooth piercing or gnawing. It is a relatively late phono-semantic compound rather than an ancient pictograph.
Form evolution
The seal form shows 穴 as a clearly drawn cave roof with two legs, over a rounded 牙. Clerical script flattened 穴 into the modern radical shape with its short horizontal and two inner strokes, and regularised 牙 into four strokes. The 楷书 form inherits this layout unchanged; the only common slip is learners writing 牙 with the wrong stroke order under the 穴 roof.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was to bore through or penetrate, as in 穿孔 (punch a hole) and the idiom 水滴石穿 (dripping water wears through stone). By the medieval period it extended to passing through a space (穿过) and, most importantly for modern learners, to wearing clothes, shoes, or anything one threads one's body through (穿衣服, 穿鞋). The clothing sense now dominates everyday speech.
Cultural note
Learners frequently confuse 穿 with 戴, but the division is physical: 穿 is for items you pass your body through (clothes, shoes, socks), while 戴 is for items you place on (hats, glasses, watches, jewellery). The chengyu 百步穿杨 (pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces) describes superb archery and preserves the original piercing sense.
Mnemonic
Teeth through a cave — to wear, to pierce
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | chuān |
| Meanings | wear, to wear, to pierce |
| Stroke count | 9 strokes |
| Radical | 穴 (#116: cave) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #238 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 穿
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.