How to Write 店 (diàn) — Meaning “shop; store”

Think of a shop with a wide roof (广) over the entrance, and inside people are 'occupying' (占) space to sell things. You can also visualize the right part 占 as a sign saying 'open' hanging from the roof.

Write the radical 广 first: dot, then horizontal left-falling stroke (撇). Next write the right part 占: the top is '卜' (dot then vertical), then the bottom is '口' (box). Common mistake: making the 广 too narrow or forgetting the dot on top of 占.

店 (diàn) means shop/store, with radical 广. 㢆 is a rare variant of 店 but has 里 instead of 占; it's not used in modern Chinese. 庄 (zhuāng) means village or manor, with radical 广 but the bottom is 土 (earth), not 占. So focus on the right part: 占 for shop, 土 for village.

店 is used in common words like 商店 (shop), 饭店 (restaurant/hotel), and 酒店 (hotel/wine shop). In China, 饭店 can mean either a restaurant or a hotel depending on context, while 酒店 usually refers to a hotel or a place selling alcohol. It's a basic HSK 1 character essential for daily navigation.

Common words containing 店 include: 商店 (shāng diàn) — shop / store; 饭店 (fàn diàn) — restaurant; hotel; 酒店 (jiǔ diàn) — Hotel / Wine shop.