# Pronunciation: 粘



## yuechu

大家好！

I was recently watching a Korean TV show with Chinese subtitles and came across the following dialogue:

A:妈妈你是怎么知道的 (that someone else is going to 离婚）
B:我是看到他的手机才知道的。怎么看他的颜色总有些奇怪。就算抓住了，也没有什么期待了。到底该怎么办啊？
A:不要担心。我来解决。当心不要让花莘发现了。
B:我知道。怎么看都觉得他是样子太好了才被别人*粘*上了
A:难道样子好就可以喜欢上别人了

Should 粘 be read as nian2 or zhan1 here? Also, what does it mean?
Thanks!


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## retrogradedwithwind

nian，缠


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## SuperXW

粘 is always bothersome to me.
Because apparently its two pronunciations, both nian2 and zhan1 can function as verb and have a same meaning.
But for some reason (no reason), we say nian2ren2(粘人), not zhan1ren2.
And we usually say zhan1tie1(粘贴), sometimes nian2tie1.

A more formal and traditional form of 粘nian2 is 黏. It still means the same, but this 黏 cannot be pronounced as zhan1.
If someone write 黏贴, you should read nian2tie1.
In Tai-chi there's a term zhan1nian2lian2sui2(粘黏连随). It describes four basic ways of movements in Tai-chi. Sometimes you'll see 沾粘连随 or 沾黏连随...
This character 沾, reads zhan1, and cannot be pronounced as nian2.
If something is attached because of water (usually by accident), then you use 沾, and if because of rice, then 粘 or 黏.
What about the glue made by mixing rice and water? Use 粘/黏.
Not to mention the character 贴 also have a very similar meaning and appearance...
All in all, this set of characters are so unnecessarily redundant for me.

All of the followings are correct.
邮票粘(zhan1/nian2)在信封上了。
邮票黏(nian2)在信封上了。
邮票贴(tie1)在信封上了。
邮票沾(zhan1)在信封上了。
邮票粘贴(zhan1tie1/nian1tie1)在信封上了。
邮票黏贴(nian2tie1)在信封上了。


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## Skatinginbc

Perhaps zhan1 for 粘 is dialectal or regional as a result of 有邊讀邊???  康熙字典 lists only nian2 (《廣韻》女廉切《集韻》尼占切，音黏), and so does 國語辭典.


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## yuechu

Thanks for your replies, retrogradedwithwind, SuperXW and Skatinginbc!


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> Perhaps zhan1 for 粘 is dialectal or regional as a result of 有邊讀邊???  康熙字典 lists only nian2 (《廣韻》女廉切《集韻》尼占切，音黏), and so does 國語辭典.


It's among the standard pronunciations in Mainland China since I was born, and people do use both sounds quite often. If it's a result of 有边读边, it's hard to explain why both zhan1 and nian2 co-exists without being questioned. I think there's a weak tendency that people use zhan1 sound for the verb, and nian2 for the adjective.


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## fyl

In my dialect, I think it's not just a weak tendency but actually a very strong one to use zhan1 for verb and nian2 for adjective. If it's a result of 有边读边, people might have messed up 粘 and 沾.


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## learntheworld

Personally, I perfer to use 黏人 and 黏上了 in this sentence 怎么看都觉得他是样子太好了才被别人*黏*上了. 黏 has only one pronunciation, i.e. nian2.


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## yuechu

How about in this sentence?
玉竹富含维生素A类物质和粘液质 (Source: 玉竹茶_百度百科)

Do both pronunciations (nián and zhān) sound ok here?
Thanks!


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## retrogradedwithwind

我会写作“黏液”，读作nian。
但我相信会有人选择其他写法和读法。


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## yuechu

Thanks, Retrogradedwithwind!


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## Ghabi

SuperXW said:


> I think there's a weak tendency that people use zhan1 sound for the verb, and nian2 for the adjective.


How about when it's used as an adjective to describe food? For example, 这面好,不粘不坨,特别的筋道 etc. I heard zhan1, but am not sure if there's regional differences. Thanks!


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## AquisM

I also find this word very troublesome and basically only use 黏 (especially because this word isn't used much in Cantonese anyway; we use 黐 for _sticky _or _to stick, adhere_) Are there any official rules in China/Taiwan regarding the use of 黏/粘?


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## SuperXW

Ghabi said:


> How about when it's used as an adjective to describe food? For example, 这面好,不粘不坨,特别的筋道 etc. I heard zhan1, but am not sure if there's regional differences. Thanks!


It is hard to say whether it is an adjective or a verb, for example, how do you define 不偏不倚, 不紧不慢, 若即若离...


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## Ghabi

@SuperXW you mean you also say 不粘(zhan1), right?


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## SuperXW

Ghabi said:


> @SuperXW you mean you also say 不粘(zhan1), right?


I unintentionally read 不nian2不坨, but since you've mentioned it, 不zhan1不坨 is also fine to me.
Still, to me, nian2 is an adjective describe the characteristic of the noodle, zhan1 is a verb to say they are attached to each other.


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## SimonTsai

SuperXW said:


> 邮票沾 (zhan1) 在信封上了。


This one does sound odd to my ear.


AquisM said:


> Are there any official rules in China/Taiwan regarding the use of 黏/粘?


The only possible pronunication for both here in Taiwan is 'nian2'. (And '黏', of course, is much commoner.)


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