展 (zhǎn): to spread out, to open up, to exhibit, to put into effect, to postpone, to prolong

展 (zhǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to spread out.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 尸 (structural) and 衣 (structural). It ranks #275 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 展 laying out clothes 㠭 for sale in a market 尸; compare 㠭. Its radical form 尸 (corpse) appears in many related characters such as 层 (céng, to pile on top of one another), 尽 (jǐn, to the greatest extent), 屋 (wū, (bound form) house).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to spread out
  2. to open up
  3. to exhibit
  4. to put into effect
  5. to postpone
  6. to prolong

Etymology & Origin

展

ideographicLaying out clothes 㠭 for sale in a market 尸; compare 㠭

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Practice writing 展 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 展

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
展示verbzhǎn shìto reveal5
进展verbjìn zhǎnto make headway6
发展verbfā zhǎndevelopment3
展现verbzhǎn xiànto unfold before one's eyes5
展开verbzhǎn kāito unfold5
展览verbzhǎn lǎnto put on display5
开展verbkāi zhǎnto launch5
扩展verbkuò zhǎnto extend6
展出verbzhǎn chūto put on display5
参展verbcān zhǎnto exhibit at or take part in a trade show etc6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
伸展verbshēn zhǎnstretching
施展verbshī zhǎnto use fully
展望verbzhǎn wàngoutlook
拓展verbtuò zhǎnto expand
展品nounzhǎn pǐnexhibit
画展nounhuà zhǎnart exhibition
展览会nounzhǎn lǎn huìexhibition
舒展verbshū zhǎnto roll out
展露verbzhǎn lùto expose
展翅verbzhǎn chìto spread wings
会展proper-nounhuì zhǎnconventions and exhibitions (abbr. for 會議|会议 + 展覽|展览)
发展中国家nounfā zhǎn zhōng guó jiādeveloping country
展台nounzhǎn táidisplay counter
展览馆nounzhǎn lǎn guǎnexhibition hall
一筹莫展phraseyī chóu mò zhǎnto be unable to find a solution
100
Total compounds
36
As first character
43
As last character
21
As middle character

展 appears in 100 compound words: 36 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 21 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 展 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

发fā
0.554224,068 co-occurrences
览lǎn
0.53323,520 co-occurrences
扩kuò
0.52144,752 co-occurrences
阅yuè
0.51817,738 co-occurrences
开kāi
0.50378,748 co-occurrences
拓tuò
0.49915,294 co-occurrences
读dú
0.47717,824 co-occurrences
示shì
0.45078,903 co-occurrences
蓬péng
0.4344,724 co-occurrences
迅xùn
0.4347,518 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (7)

愁眉不展chóuméibùzhǎnHSK 6+

to wear a sad or distressed expression

phrase
花枝招展huāzhīzhāozhǎnHSK 6+

gorgeously dressed; all dolled up; seductively dressed

phrase
经济发展jīng jì fā zhǎnHSK 4+

economic development

phrase
一筹莫展yīchóumòzhǎnHSK 7+

to be unable to find a solution; to be at wits' end

phrase
一展身手yīzhǎnshēnshǒuHSK 3+

to display one's talent

phrase
展翅高飞zhǎn chì gāo fēiHSK 5+

to spread one's wings and soar (idiom); to develop one's abilities freely

phrase

Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 展.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个展览吸引了很多观众,大家对展品都很感兴趣。

Zhè gè zhǎnlǎn xīyǐn le hěn duō guānzhòng, dàjiā duì zhǎnpǐn dōu hěn gǎn xìngqù.

This exhibition attracted many visitors; everyone was very interested in the exhibits.

WorldjournalFeb 2026

米兰大教堂雕像 赞助修复便可有条件借展

mǐ lán dà jiào táng diāo xiàng zàn zhù xiū fù biàn kě yǒu tiáo jiàn jiè zhǎn

Statues of Milan Cathedral can be loaned conditionally if they sponsor the restoration

百度新闻Feb 2026

大理消防开展防火专项行动:踏查重点林区,对高火险区....

dà lǐ xiāo fáng kāi zhǎn fáng huǒ zhuān xiàng háng dòng : tà chá chóng diǎn lín qū , duì gāo huǒ xiǎn qū . . . .

Dali Fire Protection carried out special fire prevention actions: inspected key forest areas and targeted high-fire risk areas....

百度新闻Feb 2026

马年首日上海科技馆试开放 互动展项人气最旺

mǎ nián shǒu rì shǎng hǎi kē jì guǎn shì kāi fàng hù dòng zhǎn xiàng rén qì zuì wàng

The first day of the Year of the Horse, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum trial opening interactive exhibits most popular

百度新闻Feb 2026

多国媒体:春晚人形机器人表演展现中国人工智能飞速发..

duō guó méi tī chūn wǎn rén xíng jī qì rén biǎo yǎn zhǎn xiàn zhōng guó rén gōng zhì néng fēi sù fā . .

Global Media: Spring Festival Gala's Humanoid Robot Performance Showcases China's Rapid AI Advancements

百度新闻Feb 2026

...节祭英烈 初心永不忘 华北军区烈士陵园开展“春节..

. . . jié zhài yīng liè chū xīn yǒng bù wàng huá běi jūn ōu liè shì líng yuán kāi zhǎn chūn jié . .

Honoring Martyrs During the Festival, Never Forgetting Our Original Aspirations The Martyrs' Cemetery of the North China Military Region Holds a "Spring Festival..."

Tatoeba

你去看艺术展览了吗?

Nǐ qù kàn yìshù zhǎnlǎn le ma?

Did you go to the art exhibition?

Tatoeba

他们在画展上授予了她一等奖。

Tāmen zài huàzhǎn shàng shòuyǔ le tā yīděngjiǎng.

They awarded her first prize at the art exhibition.

Tatoeba

这座城镇发展成为了一个经济中心。

Zhè zuò chéngzhèn fāzhǎn chéngwéi le yī gè jīngjì zhōngxīn.

The town developed into the center of the economy.

Tatoeba

农村好像要大规模发展了。

Nóngcūn hǎoxiàng yào dàguīmó fāzhǎn le.

It seems the rural area will be developed on a large scale.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced zhǎn

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 展 (zhǎn) mean in Chinese?
展 (zhǎn) primarily means "to spread out." It is classified as HSK Level 3, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #275 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 展 and 下?
展 (zhǎn) and 下 (xià) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 展 (up) vs 下 (down).
How many strokes does 展 have?
展 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 展?
The radical associated with 展 is 尸 (corpse). This radical appears in many characters related to corpse.
What are the components of 展?
展 is composed of: 尸 (structural), 衣 (structural). Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 展?
Common words with 展 include: 展示 (zhǎn shì, "to reveal"); 进展 (jìn zhǎn, "to make headway"); 发展 (fā zhǎn, "development"); 展现 (zhǎn xiàn, "to unfold before one's eyes"); 展开 (zhǎn kāi, "to unfold"). There are over 100 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 展 (zhǎn)?
Several characters share the pronunciation zhǎn: 战 (to fight), 站 (station), 占 (to observe), 沾 (to moisten), and 5 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 展 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 展 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 展 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.