Mnemonic comic for 占

Translation

zhàn = zh + an4: to take possession of / to occupy / to take up

Mnemonic

A mnemonic is a short, deliberately ridiculous scene, built to be hard to forget. Who appears in it and where it takes place are how the pronunciation is stored; the objects in it stand for the parts the character is written with. That is the Marilyn Method, and the comic below is the same scene, drawn.

Mnemonic symbol: a yellow umbrella. James II of England (zh) occupies (占) the anthill’s bathroom (an4). He uses a pennant (⺊) stuck into a mandarin (口) to mark his territory. The ants are silently protesting with yellow umbrellas (占).

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All translations for 占

占

佔

zhàn = zh + an4

variant of 占[zhan4]

占

zhān = zh + an1

to observe / to divine

占

zhàn = zh + an4

to take possession of / to occupy / to take up

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How to pronounce 占

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

zhān

= zh initial

Zh is for James II of England (詹姆斯二世, zhānmǔsī èrshì).

By Matthias • updated 3 months ago

+ an1 final

In front of the anthill.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago

zhàn

= zh initial

Zh is for James II of England (詹姆斯二世, zhānmǔsī èrshì).

By Matthias • updated 3 months ago

+ an4 final

In the anthill’s bathroom.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago

占 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

占
- ⺊
  - 丨
  - 一
- 口

Component Translations

⺊

Character component without intrinsic meaning

口

kǒu = k + ou3

mouth / classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc) / classifier for bites or mouthfuls

Characters with 占 as component

贴店粘站帖战点沾钻黏點佔貼苫鮎鲇玷砧毡乩拈覘坫鉆觇黇呫奌怗扂敁痁蛅詀跕阽飐颭

贴

貼

tiē = ti + e1

to stick / to paste / to post (e.g. on a blog) / to keep close to / to fit snugly / to subsidize / allowance (e.g. money for food or housing) / sticker / classifier for sticking plaster: strip

店

diàn = di + an4

inn; old-style hotel / (bound form) shop; store / CL:家[jia1]

粘

nián = ni + an2

variant of 黏[nian2]

Words with 占

show 14 more

占

佔

zhàn

领

領

lǐng

to occupy (a territory) / to hold

占

佔

zhàn

据

據

jù

to occupy / to hold

占

佔

zhàn

有

yǒu

to have / to own / to hold / to occupy / to possess / to account for (a high proportion etc)

Sentences with 占

占 currently does not appear in any sentence.

Want to remember 占 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

占

zhàn / zhān

3 translations

Prompt snippets

The yellow umbrella is bright and vivid, with a smooth, circular canopy that stands out sharply in a crowd. Its lightweight metal frame and slender black handle give it a simple, practical look. When opened, the bold yellow fabric forms a clean, geometric dome — instantly recognizable as a symbol through its striking color and minimal design.