占 zhàn occupy
take possession of; occupied; to occupy; to take up
How to remember 占: ⺊ fortune teller + 口 mouth = occupy. The fortune teller opens her mouth to call the next customer, but sighs as a fat pigeon lands to occupy her only chair.
Component breakdown
占 = ⺊ fortune teller + 口 mouth
- ⺊ fortune teller
- 口 mouth
The fortune teller opens her mouth to call the next customer, but sighs as a fat pigeon lands to occupy her only chair.
How it came to be
A crack in a heated shell with a mouth beneath it, reading aloud what the crack says. Declaring a thing is how a reading turns into a claim on it.
How it is used
- Verb "to occupy/take up": 占用时间 (zhànyòng shíjiān, take up someone's time) is a common polite phrase before asking a favor.
- 占线 (zhànxiàn) means "the line is busy" on the phone.
- 占比 (zhànbǐ, proportion/percentage) is frequent in business and stats writing: 女性占比 (nǚxìng zhànbǐ) - the proportion of women.
- 占领/占据 (zhànlǐng/zhànjù) are stronger, meaning to seize or capture territory.
Characters built with 占
Words with 占
Example sentences
- 老人人口占总人口的百分之三十。 Lǎorén rénkǒu zhàn zǒng rénkǒu de bǎifēnzhī sān shí.Elderly people account for 30% of the total population.
- 同意这个方案的人还是占了大多数。 Tóngyì zhège fāng'àn de rén háishi zhànle dàduōshù.The majority agrees to this proposal.