About
The character "摊", whose traditional form is "攤", is etymologically constructed from the hand radical (扌) combined with the phonetic and semantic component 難 (nán), which originally conveyed a sense of difficulty or exertion. This structure suggests an action performed by hand that involves spreading or laying something out, often with a connotation of effort or dispersal. Its core meaning historically centered on the act of unfolding or distributing something onto a flat surface, such as摊开纸张 (spreading out paper) or摊开地图 (unfolding a map), and by extension, to摊派 (apportion a burden). Over time, this concrete action gave rise to a common nominal usage, referring to the physical setup where goods are displayed for sale on such a surface, hence a vendor's stall or stand. This semantic shift from the action of spreading to the resulting place of commerce represents the primary functional evolution of the character, while its verbal senses have remained consistently linked to concepts of distribution and display.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他把书摊在桌子上。
街角新开了一个水果摊。
妈妈把面糊摊成一张薄饼。
这些费用由我们大家分摊。
事情败露后，他只好向大家摊牌。
这个烂摊子需要很长时间来收拾。
他把问题都摊到桌面上来讨论。
他这次可真是摊上大事了。