窜 (cuàn): to flee
窜 (cuàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to flee.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 穴 (structural) and 串 (structural). It ranks #2378 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 窜 simplified form of 竄; a mouse 鼠 running out of its hole 穴. Its radical form 穴 (cave) appears in many related characters such as 穿 (chuān, to wear, 穿透), 空 (kōng, empty, sky), 突 (tū, sudden).
Definitions
- to flee
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSimplified form of 竄; a mouse 鼠 running out of its hole 穴
Decomposition: ⿱穴串 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 窜 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 逃窜verb | táo cuàn | to run away |
| 流窜verb | liú cuàn | to roam all over the place |
| 窜逃verb | cuàn táo | to flee in disorder |
| 窜改verb | cuàn gǎi | to alter |
| 流窜犯 | liú cuàn fàn | criminal at large |
| 逃窜无踪 | táo cuàn wú zōng | to disperse and flee, leaving no trace |
| 抱头鼠窜phrase | bào tóu shǔ cuàn | to cover one's head and sneak away like a rat (idiom) |
| 点窜 | diǎn cuàn | to reword |
| 窜红 | cuàn hóng | to become suddenly popular |
| 窜犯verb | cuàn fàn | to raid |
| 乱窜verb | luàn cuàn | to flee in disarray |
| 窜升 | cuàn shēng | to rise rapidly |
| 窜访verb | cuàn fǎng | (derog.) (of a prominent figure) to visit (another country) (used when one disapproves of the visit for political rea... |
| 窜扰verb | cuàn rǎo | to invade and harass |
| 奔窜verb | bēn cuàn | (of people or animals) to flee helter-skelter |
窜 appears in 18 compound words: 50 as the first character, 39 as the last, and 11 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 窜 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
小偷听到动静，连忙逃窜，但还是被抓住了。
Xiǎotōu tīngdào dòngjing, liánmáng táocuàn, dàn háishì bèi zhuāzhù le.
The thief heard the noise and quickly fled but was still caught.
...整修遭控砍树 市府秀报告:汰换不良树种防窜根危害
. . . zhěng xiū zāo kòng kǎn shù shì fǔ xiù bào gào : tài huàn bù liáng shù zhǒng fáng cuàn gēn wēi hài
...Accused of cutting down trees during renovations, the city government presents a report: Replacing problematic tree species to prevent root intrusion and associated hazards
...止工建路深夜惊传火警 仓储起火燃烧浓烟直窜天际
. . . zhǐ gōng jiàn lù shēn yè jīng chuán huǒ jǐng cāng chǔ qǐ huǒ rán shāo nóng yān zhí cuàn tiān jì
... The fire alarm was reported late at night, and the warehouse caught fire and smoke flew straight into the sky
彰化北斗民宅神明厅窜火苗 8旬老翁呛伤送医
zhāng huà běi dǒu mín zhái shén míng tīng cuàn huǒ miáo 8 xún lǎo wēng qiàng shāng sòng yī
Changhua Beidou People's House Shenming Hall Flames 80-year-old man choked and sent to the hospital
菲律宾坎拉翁火山爆发!火山灰柱窜天高达2500公尺 本周二度喷发
菲 lǜ bīn kǎn lā wēng huǒ shān bào fā ! huǒ shān huī zhù cuàn tiān gāo dá gōng chǐ běn zhōu èr dù pēn fā
Canraon Volcano erupted in the Philippines! Volcanic ash columns soared up to 2,500 meters high and erupted twice this week
五杨高架男搭小黄情绪失控! 下车乱窜坠桥亡
wǔ yáng gāo jià nán dā xiǎo huáng qíng xù shī kòng ! xià chē luàn cuàn zhuì qiáo wáng
Man in Yellow Taxi Loses Control on Wuyang Elevated Road! Jumps Off Bridge After Getting Out of Vehicle, Dies
小偷迅速地窜入了人群。
Xiǎotōu xùnsù de cuàn rù le rénqún.
The thief whipped out into the crowd.
Character Family
穴 Radical Family — Characters sharing the cave radical
Homophones — Characters pronounced cuàn
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 窜 (cuàn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 窜 have?
What is the radical of 窜?
What are the components of 窜?
What are common words containing 窜?
What characters sound the same as 窜 (cuàn)?
Is 窜 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 窜 with real-time feedback
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