HSK 5 · Verbs

插 chā “to insert” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 插 means

  1. to insert
  2. to stick in
  3. to plug in
  4. pierce
  5. to take part in
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to interfere
  • to interpose

How to say 插

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale插chā1st tone, high and level

插 in a sentence

  1. 插头插到插座里了吗？

    Chātóu chā dào chāzuò lǐ le ma?

    Is the plug in the socket?

    Sentence #10267396 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 把这些花插在花瓶里会更好看。

    Bǎ zhèxiē huā chā zài huāpíng lǐ huì gèng hǎokàn.

    These flowers would look nicer in a vase.

    Sentence #1873159 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 母亲在我的生日蛋糕上插上了十三枝蜡烛。

    Mǔqīn zài wǒ de shēngrì dàngāo shàng chā shàng le shísān zhī làzhú.

    My mother put thirteen candles on my birthday cake.

    Sentence #587436 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 插 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 插 (chā) with each of its parts in a different colour
插chāto insert
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 臿to separate the grain from the husk · chāSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 臿 (chā) hints at the sound. Compare it with chā.

How to write 插

插 12 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

插 (chā) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 插 (chā). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 插

Words with 插

插座chāzuò · power point

More words: Common Verbs

补充bǔchōng · to replenish采取cǎiqǔ · to adopt or carry out (measures踩cǎi · to step on参与cānyù · to take part (in)拆chāi · to tear open产生chǎnshēng · to produce吵chǎo · to quarrel抄chāo · to copy (by hand)

FAQs

插 (chā) means “to insert” or “to stick in”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it chā: chā with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 插 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type cha with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 插 from the suggestions. Typing cha into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
插 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.