How to Write 添 (tiān) — Meaning “to add; to increase”

Imagine you are at a tea shop and want to add more water to your cup — the water radical 氵 reminds you of liquid, and the right side 忝 can be thought of as "two extra drops" (two dots above 天). So visualize pouring two extra drops into your tea to remember that 添 means "to add."

Pay attention to the stroke order: write the left-side water radical (氵) first as three dots, then the right part 忝 starting with the top horizontal stroke. A common mistake is making the bottom of 忝 too wide — keep the 小-like part narrow and balanced so the character doesn't look squished.

添 (tiān) means "to add" and contains the water radical, while 洁 (jié) means "clean" and has a different right component (吉). 洄 (huí) means "to flow backward" and uses 回 on the right. Visually, 添 has a 忝 component with two dots above 天, while 洁 has 士 and 口, and 洄 has an outer box 囗 inside.

添 is commonly used in everyday speech and writing, such as in 添加 (tiān jiā, to add) on apps or menus, and 添麻烦 (tiān má fan, to cause trouble) as a polite apology. In Chinese culture, when you add food to someone's bowl at a meal, it's polite to use 添 to mean "add more," showing hospitality.

Common words containing 添 include: 添加 (tiān jiā) — to add; to append; 添麻烦 (tiān má fán) — to cause trouble; to be a nuisance; 增添 (zēng tiān) — add.