弹

彈
tán
#631 most
frequent character
to pluck (a string)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

弹 has 弓 bow as picture part and 单 dān as sound part. It first meant a bow for shooting pellets. Read dàn, it grew to pellet or bullet, then bomb. Read tán, it grew to shoot, pluck a string, and hit.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

弹dàn
crossball, bullet, shot, shell

Homophones

HSK 4
谈tán
to talk
坛tán
altar, platform, rostrum
坛tán
earthen jar

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