Definitions

cuàn (verb) to flee; to scuttle
cuàn (verb) to exile; to banish
cuàn (verb) to edit; to amend

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

About

The traditional character "竄" is structurally composed of the radical "穴" meaning "cave" and the component "鼠" meaning "rat", which etymologically suggests the action of a rat darting into a hole, thus conveying early meanings of "to flee" or "to hide". Over time, its usage extended to include "to exile" and "to alter text improperly", as in the compound "竄改". The simplified form "窜" replaces the complex bottom element with "串", a component that provides phonetic similarity while streamlining the character. The core semantic notion of swift or covert movement persists in modern applications such as "窜逃" for fleeing and "流窜" for moving stealthily.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

老鼠突然出来。

Lǎoshǔ tūrán cuàn chūlái.

The mouse suddenly darted out.

小偷逃进了小巷。

Xiǎotōu cuàntáo jìnle xiǎo xiàng.

The thief fled into the alley.

匪徒流多个省份。

Fěitú liúcuàn duō gè shěngfèn.

The bandits roamed across multiple provinces.

改了重要文件。

Tā cuàngǎi le zhòngyào wénjiàn.

He altered the important documents.

消息很快遍了全村。

Xiāoxī hěn kuài cuànbiàn le quán cūn.

The news quickly spread throughout the village.

这股热潮升得很快。

Zhè gǔ rècháo cuànshēng de hěn kuài.

This trend rose rapidly.

犯罪分子四处流作案。

Fànzuì fènzǐ sìchù liúcuàn zuò'àn.

Criminals commit crimes while moving around.

他的文章被编辑点过。

Tā de wénzhāng bèi biānjí diǎncuàn guò.

His article was revised by the editor.