占 zhān
zhān: to divine, to predict (related to ancient fortune-telling).
zhàn: to occupy, to hold (the pronunciation for "占领", meaning "occupy or seize", which is a common meaning in daily life).
Story
The character 【占】 has a close connection with ancient Chinese divination culture, and its structure perfectly explains its original meaning. It is composed of two parts: the part is lower【口】 (kǒu, meaning "mouth"), and the upper part is 【卜】 (bǔ, referring to the cracks on oracle bones used for divination).
As the key knowledge goes: using one’s mouth to explain and predict the "cracks" (【卜】) is divination, and this is exactly what 【占】 represents in its original sense.
Memory Tip
Just remember: 【口】 (mouth) + 【卜】 (oracle bone cracks) = 【占】. Using your mouth to explain the cracks of 【卜】 is the original meaning of 【占，占 (zhān) 卜】, which can help you quickly memorize its shape and core meaning.
