窜

竄

cuàn

串 + 穴

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

cuàn (verb) to flee; to scuttle

cuàn (verb) to exile; to banish

cuàn (verb) to edit; to amend

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 穴 represents the meaning and 串 represents the sound. Simplified form of 竄.

About

Traditional 竄 pairs 穴 (xué, cave) with 鼠 (shǔ, rat), evoking a rat darting into a hole to escape danger and vividly illustrating panic-driven or stealthy flight. Simplified 窜 retains 穴 but swaps the rodent for 串 (chuàn), which marks the pronunciation, transforming it into a phonosemantic compound where 穴 suggests the meaning and 串 the sound. It conveys scurrying away, fleeing, or going into exile, often with chaotic haste, and typically carries a negative connotation, describing the furtive retreat of criminals, bandits, or pests trying to avoid capture or detection.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

老鼠突然窜出来。

Lǎoshǔ tūrán cuàn chūlái.

The mouse suddenly darted out.

小偷窜逃进了小巷。

Xiǎotōu cuàntáo jìnle xiǎo xiàng.

The thief fled into the alley.

匪徒流窜多个省份。

Fěitú liúcuàn duō gè shěngfèn.

The bandits roamed across multiple provinces.

他窜改了重要文件。

Tā cuàngǎi le zhòngyào wénjiàn.

He altered the important documents.

消息很快窜遍了全村。

Xiāoxī hěn kuài cuànbiàn le quán cūn.

The news quickly spread throughout the village.

这股热潮窜升得很快。

Zhè gǔ rècháo cuànshēng de hěn kuài.

This trend rose rapidly.

犯罪分子四处流窜作案。

Fànzuì fènzǐ sìchù liúcuàn zuò'àn.

Criminals commit crimes while moving around.

他的文章被编辑点窜过。

Tā de wénzhāng bèi biānjí diǎncuàn guò.

His article was revised by the editor.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 串

Component: 穴

窜