贮 (zhù) · to store, to stockpile, to put in reserve

Meanings

1 to store
2 to stockpile
3 to put in reserve

Characters

贮

zhù

to store, to put in reserve

Examples

HSK 5

这种电池能贮存大量电能。

Zhè zhǒng diànchí néng zhùcún dàliàng diànnéng.

This type of battery can store a large amount of electrical energy.

HSK 7-9

粮仓中贮满了粮食以备冬季。

Liángcāng zhōng zhù mǎn le liángshi yǐ bèi dōngjì.

The granary was stocked full of grain in preparation for winter.

HSK 7-9

古人在地窖中贮藏食物。

Gǔrén zài dìjiào zhōng zhùcáng shíwù.

Ancient people stored food in cellars.

Tips

register

贮 is a classical/formal character. In modern Chinese it most commonly appears in compound words like 贮存 (to store), 贮藏 (to stockpile), or 贮量 (reserves). As a standalone verb it is rare in everyday speech.

Components

radical

贝 bèi

cowrie; money

Left cowrie radical, the simplified form of 貝. Cowrie shells were the earliest Chinese currency, so 贝 indexes wealth-and-storage characters (财 wealth, 货 goods, 购 to buy). 贮 means to store treasures - originally cowries kept safe under a roof, hence the radical and the right-side roof-cover.

semantic

宀 mián

roof

Upper-right 宀 - a roof with eaves on both sides, the roof radical. Picturing valuables kept indoors under shelter. Combined with 一 below it forms the older graph 宁 'storehouse' - a roofed space marked off for keeping things, the etymological core of 贮.

semantic

一 yī

one; ground line

Lower-right 一 - a single horizontal stroke representing the floor or ground line under the roof above. Together with 宀 it makes the older 宁 'storehouse, treasury,' supplying both the sound zhù and the meaning of an enclosed space for safekeeping.