插 is also the simplified spelling of 揷.
DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
插
Mandarin · pinyin chā
Meanings
- to insert
- stick in
- pierce
- to take part in
- to interfere
- to interpose
Characters in this entry
- 插
- chā · insert, stick into; plant
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1 · cha1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link18same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 14 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
caap3
Cantonese word readings for 插. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- to stick into; to insert; to poke; to pierce
- to interpose; to insert; to cut in
- to participate; to take part in; to mix; to mingle
- (literary) to plant
- (Cantonese) to scold; to criticize
- (Eastern Min, Hokkien, Singapore Teochew) to take notice of; to pay attention to; to heed
- (Southern Min) to support someone by the armpit
- (Hokkien) to interfere; to intervene; to meddle
- (Mainland China Hokkien) to pin something to one's waist, etc.
- (Mainland China Hokkien) to mix up; to jumble up
- (Mainland China Hokkien, card games) to shuffle
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) to bet; to wager
- (Zhangzhou Hokkien) to kidnap (for ransom)
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 鍤 /锸 (chā, “spade; shovel”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack