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.

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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