Chinese word dictionary

染指

rǎn zhǐ · to dip a finger (idiom); fig. to get one's finger in the pie; to get a share of the action; abbr. for 染指於鼎|染指于鼎

Practice word

Word information

Simplified染指

Traditional染指

Pinyinrǎn zhǐ

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

染rǎn

dye; to catch; to infect; to be contagious

指zhǐ

finger, toe; to point, to indicate

How to learn 染指

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

污染wūrǎn

(lit. and fig.) to pollute; to contaminate

指zhǐ

finger; to point at or to; to indicate or refer to; to depend on; to count on; (of hair) to stand on end

指出zhǐchū

to indicate; to point out

手指shǒuzhǐ

finger; CL:個|个[ge4],隻|只[zhi1]

指导zhǐdǎo

to guide; to direct; to instruct; coach; trainer

传染chuánrǎn

to infect; contagious