添 (tiān): to add, to increase, to replenish
添 (tiān) is a Chinese character meaning “to add.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 忝 (phonetic). It ranks #1840 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 添 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- to add
- to increase
- to replenish
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 添 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 添
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 添麻烦verb | tiān má fan | to cause trouble for sb |
| 添乱verb | tiān luàn | (coll.) to cause trouble for sb |
| 增添verb | zēng tiān | to add |
| 锦上添花phrase | jǐn shàng tiān huā | (lit.) to add flowers to brocade (idiom) |
| 添加剂noun | tiān jiā jì | additive |
| 添油加醋phrase | tiān yóu jiā cù | (lit.) to add oil and vinegar (idiom) |
| 画蛇添足phrase | huà shé tiān zú | lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom) |
| 添置verb | tiān zhì | to buy |
| 如虎添翼phrase | rú hǔ tiān yì | lit. like a tiger that has grown wings |
| 平添verb | píng tiān | to add or gain sth without additional effort |
| 添加物noun | tiān jiā wù | additive |
| 添补verb | tiān bu | to fill (up) |
| 添丁verb | tiān dīng | to add a son to the family |
| 二一添作五phrase | èr yī tiān zuò wǔ | lit. one half equals zero point five (division rule in abacus reckoning) |
| 加添verb | jiā tiān | to add |
添 appears in 21 compound words: 62 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 24 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 添 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
Example Sentences
清晨的添面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de tiān miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The early morning river glistened with ripples, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
...场法兰基迪庄受伤 将缺阵逾月 为欧联赛事添忧
. . . chǎng fǎ lán jī dí zhuāng shòu shāng jiāng quē zhèn yú yuè wéi ōu lián sài shì tiān yōu
... Frankie Di Zhuang is injured and will be out for more than a month, adding to the worries of the Europa League
...友叶仲亮、叶玉霞之女叶景睿捐千万 东海再添第六间AI PC教室
. . . yǒu xié zhòng liàng , xié yù xiá zhī nǚ xié jǐng 睿 juān qiān wàn dōng hǎi zài tiān dì liù jiān A I P C jiào shì
... Ye Jingrui, the daughter of friends Ye Zhongliang and Ye Yuxia, donated tens of millions to add a sixth AI PC classroom to Donghai
...撤销初选资格 陈怡君:往前冲 绿营忧选情添变
. . . chè xiāo chū xuǎn zī gé chén yí jūn : wǎng qián chōng lǜ yíng yōu xuǎn qíng tiān biàn
... Revoke the qualification of the primary election Chen Yijun: Rush forward The green camp is worried about the election situation
...5年第四季度业绩:创纪录利润率为百年庆典添彩
. . . 5 nián dì sì jì dù yè jì : chuàng jì lù lì rùn lǜ wéi bǎi nián qìng diǎn tiān cǎi
... Q4 5 results: Record margins add to the centennial celebration
无糖食物有哪些?天然未加工食材多数不含添加糖吗
wú táng shí wù yǒu nǎ xiē ? tiān rán wèi jiā gōng shí cái duō shǔ bù hán tiān jiā táng ma
What are sugar-free foods? Are most natural, unprocessed ingredients free of added sugar?
我们家快要添丁了。
Wǒmen jiā kuàiyào tiāndīng le.
We are expecting an addition to our family.
他们几乎不给我们添麻烦。
Tāmen jīhūbù gěi wǒmen tiānmáfan.
They gave us very little trouble.
再往火里添些木柴。
Zài wǎng huǒ lǐ tiān xiē mùchái.
Put some more wood on the fire.
我很抱歉给你添麻烦了。
Wǒ hěn bàoqiàn gěi nǐ tiānmáfan le.
I'm sorry to trouble you.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 添 (tiān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 添 and 减?
How many strokes does 添 have?
What is the radical of 添?
What are the components of 添?
What are common words containing 添?
What characters sound the same as 添 (tiān)?
Is 添 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 添 with real-time feedback
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