How to Write 赞 (zàn) — Meaning “To praise / To like”

Imagine you see a beautiful shell (贝) that is the best one (先) you have ever found, so you immediately praise it. The top part 先 looks like a person raising their arms in excitement, and the bottom 贝 reminds you of a valuable prize.

The top part 先 must be written with proper stroke order: first a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, then another left-falling, then a right hook, a left-falling, and finally a vertical hook. A common mistake is making the bottom part 贝 too narrow – keep it wide and balanced under the top part.

賏 (yīng) is a rare character meaning 'strings of shells' and looks like two 贝 side by side, while 赞 has 先 above 贝. 赘 (zhuì) means 'redundant' or 'burden' and has 敖 (a different top) instead of 先. Unlike 赞, 赘 often has a negative meaning, such as an extra unwanted thing.

赞 appears in everyday words like 点赞 (diǎn zàn) meaning 'to like a social media post', and 赞成 (zàn chéng) meaning 'to agree' or 'to approve'. Culturally, tapping the 'like' button (点赞) is a very common way to show support on Chinese platforms like WeChat and Weibo.

Common words containing 赞 include: 点赞 (diǎn zàn) — to like (a post); 赞成 (zàn chéng) — To approve / To agree with; 赞美 (zàn měi) — To praise / To admire.