占

The Chinese character 占 (zhān) is composed of two parts: the radical 卜 (bǔ), which means "divination," and the phonetic component 占 (zhàn), which means "to take possession of." The character 占 originally meant "to divine the future by examining the cracks in animal bones or tortoise shells." Over time, it came to be used more broadly to mean "to predict," "to foretell," or "to occupy."The character 占 is often used in compound words related to divination, such as 占卜 (zhānbǔ, "divination"), 占星 (zhānxīng, "astrology"), and 占卦 (zhāngùa, "fortune-telling"). It is also used in words related to taking possession of something, such as 占领 (zhànlǐng, "to occupy"), 占有 (zhànyǒu, "to possess"), and 占便宜 (zhànpianyi, "to take advantage of").The character 占 is a common character in Chinese, and it is important for HSK learners to understand its meaning and usage.