砖 (zhuān): brick
砖 (zhuān) is a Chinese character meaning “brick.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 石 (semantic) and 专 (phonetic). It ranks #2285 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 砖 stone. Its radical form 石 (stone) appears in many related characters such as 确 (què, certain, true), 碗 (wǎn, bowl), 碰 (pèng, to touch, to bump).
Definitions
- brick
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 砖 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 瓷砖 | cí zhuān | ceramic tile |
| 砖头 | zhuān tou | brick |
| 砖块 | zhuān kuài | brick |
| 地砖 | dì zhuān | floor tile |
| 敲门砖 | qiāo mén zhuān | lit. a brick as a door knocker (idiom) |
| 抛砖引玉 | pāo zhuān yǐn yù | lit. throw out a brick and get jade thrown back (idiom) |
| 冰砖 | bīng zhuān | ice-cream brick |
| 砖瓦 | zhuān wǎ | tiles and bricks |
| 煤砖 | méi zhuān | briquette |
| 砌砖 | qì zhuān | to lay bricks |
| 金砖国家 | jīn zhuān guó jiā | BRICS (economic bloc) |
| 引玉之砖 | yǐn yù zhī zhuān | lit. a brick thrown to prompt others to produce a jade (idiom) |
| 地板砖 | dì bǎn zhuān | floor tile |
| 砖红土 | zhuān hóng tǔ | red brick clay |
| 面砖 | miàn zhuān | facing brick |
砖 appears in 36 compound words: 19 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 17 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 砖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to hurt oneself by one's own doing; to boomerang; to shoot oneself in the foot (idiom)
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa); BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China)
Showing 3 of 5 idioms containing 砖.
Example Sentences
这面墙是用红砖砌成的，非常坚固耐用。
Zhè miàn qiáng shì yòng hóngzhuān qì chéng de, fēicháng jiāngù nàiyòng.
This wall is built with red bricks; it is very sturdy and durable.
【东方日报世界视线】美侵委伊保霸权 金砖谋战略防衞
dōng fāng rì bào shì jiè shì xiàn měi qīn wěi yī bǎo bà quán jīn zhuān móu zhàn lüè fáng 衞
【施工公告】-L栋北侧3楼外墙壁砖澎拱修缮
shī gōng gōng gào L dòng běi cè 3 lóu wài qiáng bì zhuān péng gǒng xiū 缮
[Construction Notice] – Repair of Bulging Exterior Wall Tiles on the 3rd Floor of the North Side of Building L
拨乱反正:和委会还不如金砖上合
bō luàn fǎn zhèng : hé wěi huì hái bù rú jīn zhuān shàng gě
Rectify the chaos: the peace committee is not as good as the BRICS SCO
文物日历|2月19日:宴饮图画像砖
wén wù rì lì yuè rì yàn yǐn tú huà xiàng zhuān
Cultural Relics Calendar|February 19: Feasting and Drinking Picture Brick
文物日历|2月18日·雨水:井饮图壁画砖
wén wù rì lì yuè rì yǔ shuǐ jǐng yǐn tú bì huà zhuān
Cultural Heritage Calendar|February 18-Rainwater: Well Drinking Picture Mural Brick
你需要多少块儿磁砖？
Nǐ xūyào duōshao kuài r cí zhuān?
How many tiles do you need?
一阵寒意像砖头一样击中了我。
Yīzhèn hányì xiàng zhuāntou yīyàng jīzhòng le wǒ.
A cold wave of fear hit me like a brick.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 砖 (zhuān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 砖 and 传?
How many strokes does 砖 have?
What is the radical of 砖?
What are the components of 砖?
What are common words containing 砖?
What characters sound the same as 砖 (zhuān)?
Is 砖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 砖 with real-time feedback
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