How to Write 贴 (tiē) — Meaning “Paste; stick; subsidize”

Imagine you want to paste a sticker on your wall, but first you need money (贝) to buy it, and then you occupy (占) the space with the sticker. The sound "tiē" can remind you of "tie" — you tie a sticker onto a surface.

Write the left radical 贝 first (4 strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal, left-falling stroke), then the right part 占 (5 strokes: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal). A common mistake is making the left 贝 too wide or confusing its bottom — it should look like a shell, not closed like 见.

All three share the radical 贝, but the right sides differ: 贴 has 占 (meaning "occupy"), 贡 has 工 (work), and 财 has 才 (talent). In meaning, 贴 is a verb (to paste or subsidize), 贡 is a noun or verb for tribute, and 财 is a noun for wealth or money.

贴 appears in daily words like 贴纸 (sticker), 补贴 (subsidy), and 贴心 (considerate, literally "stick to the heart"). It is also used for posting online messages, as in 发帖 (to post a thread) — note that 贴 is the verb while 帖 (tiè) is a noun for a post or calligraphy copy.

Common words containing 贴 include: 贴纸 (tiē zhǐ) — Sticker; 补贴 (bǔ tiē) — Subsidy / To subsidize; 贴心 (tiē xīn) — Considerate; intimate.