点
to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to administer (eye medicine etc) in drops; to light (a fire, a lamp etc); to ignite; to nod (one's head) in agreement; to beckon by moving (one's hand) up and down; point; dot; spot; speck; dot stroke in Chinese characters; (math.) decimal point; point in time or space; (after a number) o'clock; a small amount; a bit; (after a verb or adjective) a bit more; classifier for small amounts
How 点 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
灬 (semantic, “fire”) + 占 (phonetic, zhàn)
How to remember it
spot · Heisig RSH #177
cooking fire + 占 tell fortunes
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 占
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 占 (zhàn) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 占 sound component | zhàn | to divine; to observe; to versify |
| 战 | zhàn | war, fighting, battle |
| 站 | zhàn | stand, station; to halt, to stand; website; measure word for stands and stations |
| 店 | diàn | shop, store; inn, hotel |
| 贴 | tiē | to stick, to paste; attached; allowance, subsidy |
| 钻 | zuàn | diamond; to bore, to drill, to pierce |
| 黏 | nián | to stick to; glutinous, sticky; glue |
| 沾 | zhān | to moisten, to soak, to wet; to touch |
| 粘 | zhān | viscous, sticky, mucous, glutinous |
| 毡 | zhān | felt; rug, carpet |
| 砧 | zhēn | anvil, flat stone |
| 玷 | diàn | character flaw; a flaw in a gem |
| 坫 | diàn | a stand on which to replace goblets after drinking |
| 苫 | shān | rush or straw matting |
| 飐 | zhǎn | to sway in the wind |
| 扂 | diàn | door latch |
| 鲇 | nián | sheatfish; Parasilurus asotus |
Words containing 点
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一点不 | yī diǎn bù | not at all |
| 有一点儿 | yǒu yī diǎn r | a bit; a little |
| 一点儿 | yī diǎn r | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 中心点 | zhōng xīn diǎn | center; central point; focus |
| 小不点 | xiǎo bu diǎn | tiny; very small; tiny thing; small child; baby |
| 不动点 | bù dòng diǎn | fixed point (of a map) (math.) |
| 有一点 | yǒu yī diǎn | a little; somewhat |
| 花点子 | huā diǎn zi | trickery; scam |
| 出生地点 | chū shēng dì diǎn | place of birth |
| 点子 | diǎn zi | spot; point; dot; speck; drop (of liquid); droplet; point (of argument); idea; crux; indic… |
| 有点儿 | yǒu diǎn r | slightly; a little; somewhat |
| 点大 | diǎn dà | (of a child etc) small as a mite; minuscule |
| 出点子 | chū diǎn zi | to express an opinion; to offer advice |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjecti… |
| 三点水 | sān diǎn shuǐ | name of "water" radical 氵[shui3] in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 85) |
| 一点一点 | yī diǎn yī diǎn | little by little; bit by bit; gradually |
| 点水 | diǎn shuǐ | to skim; lightly touching the water (as the dragonfly in the idiom 蜻蜓點水|蜻蜓点水); skin-deep |
| 点头 | diǎn tóu | to nod |
| 中点 | zhōng diǎn | midpoint; half-way point |
| 点心 | diǎn xin | light refreshments; pastry; dim sum (in Cantonese cooking); dessert |