栽 (zāi): to plant, to grow, to insert, to erect (e.g. a bus stop sign), to impose sth on sb
栽 (zāi) is a Chinese character meaning “to plant.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 戈 (phonetic) and 木 (semantic). It ranks #2326 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 栽 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- to plant
- to grow
- to insert
- to erect (e.g. a bus stop sign)
- to impose sth on sb
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 栽 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 栽赃 | zāi zāng | to frame sb (by planting sth on them) |
| 盆栽 | pén zāi | to grow (a plant) in a pot |
| 栽培 | zāi péi | to grow |
| 栽跟头 | zāi gēn tou | to fall head over heels |
| 栽种 | zāi zhòng | to plant |
| 栽倒 | zāi dǎo | to take a fall |
| 移栽 | yí zāi | to transplant (horticulture, agriculture) |
| 一头栽进 | yī tóu zāi jìn | to plunge into |
| 有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴 | yǒu yì zāi huā huā bù fā , wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn | lit. you plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree |
| 栽种机 | zāi zhòng jī | a mechanical planter (for rice, plants) |
| 前人栽树，后人乘凉 | qián rén zāi shù , hòu rén chéng liáng | to enjoy the benefits of the hard work of one's predecessors. (idiom) |
| 多栽花少栽刺 | duō zāi huā shǎo zāi cì | talk nicely and avoid disputes |
| 栽子 | zāi zi | seedling |
| 认栽 | rèn zāi | to admit defeat |
| 栽筋斗 | zāi jīn dǒu | to tumble |
栽 appears in 17 compound words: 53 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 29 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 栽 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
春天来了，院子里的栽木开始发芽抽枝。
chūn tiān lái le , yuàn zǐ lǐ de zāi mù kāi shǐ fā yá chōu zhī .
Spring has arrived, and the trees in the yard are beginning to sprout and branch out.
推植栽的交换站 汐止区长青里植物银行复育有成
tuī zhí zāi de jiāo huàn zhàn xī zhǐ qū cháng qīng lǐ zhí wù yín háng fù yù yǒu chéng
新/徐汉“二度收押”女共犯、司机也栽了
xīn xú hàn èr dù shōu yā nǚ gòng fàn , sī jī yě zāi le
Xin/Xu Han's female accomplice "re-arrested"; driver also caught
被指开展核试验 中外交部批美“捕风捉影、栽赃抹黑”
bèi zhǐ kāi zhǎn hé shì yàn zhōng wài jiāo bù pī měi bǔ fēng zhuō yǐng , zāi zāng mā hēi
Accused of carrying out nuclear tests, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the United States for "chasing after the wind and planting stolen goods"
竹市府提前启动公墓除草作业 赠小盆栽鼓励分流扫墓
zhú shì fǔ tí qián qǐ dòng gōng mù chú cǎo zuò yè zèng xiǎo pén zāi gǔ lì fēn liú sǎo mù
The Zhu City Government started the cemetery weeding operation in advance and gave small potted plants to encourage diversion and tomb sweeping
...校57周年 魏家祥:秉持“超越教育”理念栽培社会栋梁
. . . jiào 5 7 zhōu nián wèi jiā xiáng : bǐng chí chāo yuè jiào yù lǐ niàn zāi péi shè huì dòng liáng
... The 57th anniversary of the school Wei Jiaxiang: Adhering to the concept of "beyond education" to cultivate social pillars
他们想栽培新品种的米来增加粮食生产。
Tāmen xiǎng zāipéi xīn pǐnzhǒng de mǐ lái zēngjiā liángshi shēngchǎn.
They want to increase food production by growing new kinds of rice.
农夫警告孩子们不要践踏新栽种的作物。
Nóngfū jǐnggào háizimen bù yào jiàntà xīn zāizhòng de zuòwù.
The farmer warned the children not to stomp on the freshly planted crops.
为了增添节日的气氛 ，那里的人用盆栽装饰他们的家。
Wèile zēngtiān jiérì de qìfēn, nàli de rén yòng pénzāi zhuāngshì tāmen de jiā.
People there decorate their homes with potted flowers to add to the festival atmosphere.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 栽 (zāi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 栽 have?
What is the radical of 栽?
What are the components of 栽?
What are common words containing 栽?
What characters sound the same as 栽 (zāi)?
Is 栽 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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