占 (zhàn): to observe, to divine, to take possession of
占 (zhàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to observe.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺊ (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #737 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 占 to speak 口 omens ⺊. Its radical form 卜 (divination) appears in many related characters such as 卡 (kǎ, to stop), 卧 (wò, to lie), 卜 (bǔ, (bound form) to divine).
Definitions
- to observe
- to divine
- to take possession of
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo speak 口 omens ⺊
Decomposition: ⿱⺊口 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 占 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 占
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 占据verb | zhàn jù | to occupy | 6 |
| 占有verb | zhàn yǒu | to have | 6 |
| 占比noun | zhàn bǐ | proportion | 6 |
| 占线verb | zhàn xiàn | busy (telephone line) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 占领 | zhàn lǐng | to capture |
| 占用 | zhàn yòng | to occupy |
| 占卜 | zhān bǔ | to divine |
| 独占 | dú zhàn | variant of 獨占|独占[du2 zhan4] |
| 霸占 | bà zhàn | to occupy by force |
| 侵占 | qīn zhàn | to invade and occupy (territory) |
| 占便宜 | zhàn pián yi | advantageous |
| 占上风 | zhàn shàng fēng | to take the lead |
| 攻占 | gōng zhàn | to seize control of (an enemy position) |
| 抢占 | qiǎng zhàn | to seize (the strategic high ground) |
| 占地 | zhàn dì | to take up space |
| 拜占庭 | bài zhàn tíng | Byzantium |
| 占星术 | zhān xīng shù | astrology |
| 强占 | qiáng zhàn | to occupy by force |
| 市场占有率 | shì chǎng zhàn yǒu lǜ | market share |
占 appears in 52 compound words: 63 as the first character, 23 as the last, and 13 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 占 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Showing 1 of 3 idioms containing 占.
Example Sentences
占字在不同的语境中有不同的用法。
zhàn zì zài bù tóng de yǔ jìng zhōng yǒu bù tóng de yòng fǎ .
The character "占" has different usages in different contexts.
瑞士媒体:中国、俄罗斯和美国都想‘占山为王’
ruì shì méi tǐ : zhōng guó , é luó sī hé měi guó dōu xiǎng zhàn shān wéi wáng
Swiss media: China, Russia and the United States all want to 'occupy the mountain'
消息指外汇基金转拨1,500亿元占总资产规模小 属单次性安排
xiāo xī zhǐ wài huì jī jīn zhuǎn bō 1 , 5 0 0 yì yuán zhàn zǒng zī chǎn guī mó xiǎo shǔ dān cì xìng ān pái
According to the news, the transfer of 150 billion yuan by the Exchange Fund accounts for a small scale of total assets, which is a one-time arrangement
...市场活络、1 月销量大增 26%;华硕市占第 3
. . . shì chǎng huó lào , 1 yuè xiāo liàng dà zēng 2 6 ; huá shuò shì zhàn dì 3
... market activity, sales increased by 26% in January; ASUS market shares the third place
PS5 独占,《漫威金刚狼》官宣 2026 年 9 ...
P S 5 dú zhàn , màn wēi jīn gāng láng guān xuān 2 0 2 6 nián 9 . . .
PS5 exclusive, "Marvel Wolverine" officially announced in 2026 9 ...
“要么他走,要么我们下台” 邱培栋:阿占巴基必须辞职
yāo má tā zǒu , yāo má wǒ men xià tái 邱 péi dòng : ā zhàn bā jī bì xū cí zhí
"Either he leaves, or we step down" Qiu Peidong: Azan Baki must resign
我们的市场占有率为20%。
Wǒmen de shìchǎng zhànyǒulǜ wèi bǎi fēn zhī èr shí.
We have a 20% share of the market.
很快，城市就被士兵占领了。
Hěn kuài, chéngshì jiù bèi shìbīng zhànlǐng le.
The city was soon occupied by the soldiers.
这台机器很占空间。
Zhè tái jīqì hěn zhàn kōngjiān.
The machine takes a lot of room.
进口车占了不到百分之八。
Jìnkǒu chē zhàn le bù dào bǎifēnzhī bā.
Imported cars account for less than eight percent.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 占 (zhàn) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 占 (zhàn)?
Is 占 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 占 with real-time feedback
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