贯穿
guàn chuān · HSK 7
to run through
🧵🪡 贯 = string coins on a thread + 穿 = pierce through = one thread running end to end
贯 originally meant a string of coins threaded together; 穿 means to pierce or pass through. Stacked, they mean a single line that links everything from start to finish.
穿 — cave 穴 on top + tooth 牙 below
Originally a compound suggesting a tooth (牙) boring through a cave or hole (穴), giving the core sense of 'pierce through' or 'penetrate'. From this came extended meanings like 'pass through', 'wear (clothes)' — i.e. pass the body through fabric — and 'bore a hole'.