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塞

sāi
#1,078 most
frequent character
fill in, squeeze, stuff, stopper
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

塞 began as two hands shoving things into a building, filling it. Read sāi, it means 'to fill or block'; sè means 'to obstruct', and sài is an isolated border pass. 土, earth, was added later to strengthen the idea of blockage.

Drawn as: two hands shifting things; house being filled

塞 as a component in other characters

sound1 character
噻

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Example Sentences

请把这个袋子塞满。
qǐng bǎ zhègè dàizǐ sāi mǎn 。
Please fill this bag full.
她用手把水塞住了。
tā yòng shǒubǎ shuǐ sāizhù le 。
She used her hand to stopper the water.
把毛巾塞进行李箱里。
bǎ máojīn sāijìn hánglǐxiāng lǐ 。
Stuff the towel into the suitcase.

Same Characters, Different Readings

塞Sai1
Serbia, Serbian
塞sài
strategic pass, tactical border position
塞sè
to stop up, to stuff, to cope with

Words with similar meanings

填tián
fill
More commonly used for filling voids or spaces, often in a more general context.
装zhuāng
load
Implies putting items into a container but often carries the connotation of organizing.

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