| 钻 | zuān | to drill; to bore; to get into; to make one's way into; to enter (a hole); to thread one's way through; to study intensively; to dig into; to curry favor for personal gain |
| 钻 | zuàn | an auger; diamond |
| 钻研 | zuān yán | to study meticulously; to delve into |
| 钻井 | zuàn jǐng | to drill (e.g. for oil); a borehole |
| 钻探 | zuān tàn | drilling |
| 钻头 | zuān tóu | drill bit |
| 钻石 | zuàn shí | diamond; CL:颗 |
| 钻营 | zuān yíng | toadying for personal gain; to curry favor; to drill a way through to fame and profit |
| 钻心虫 | zuān xīn chóng | boring insect; snout moth's larva (Aphomia gullaris or Plodia interpuncuella or Heliothus armigera etc), major agricultural pest |
| 钻井平台 | zuān jǐng píng tái | (oil) drilling platform |
| 钻劲 | zuān jìn | to study enthusiastically |
| 钻劲儿 | zuān jìnr | erhua variant of 钻劲, to study enthusiastically |
| 钻卡 | zuān qiǎ | drill chuck |
| 钻圈 | zuān quān | jumping through hoops (as acrobatic show) |
| 钻坚仰高 | zuàn jiān yǎng gāo | delving firmly, eyes raised (idiom); from Analects: Confucius' disciple 颜渊 aspires to the heights of Confucius's teaching; to dedicate oneself to a high goal and learn intensively; meticulous and diligent study |
| 钻压 | zuān yā | pressure on a drill bit |
| 钻孔 | zuān kǒng | bore a hole |
| 钻心 | zuàn xīn | to sneak in; to infiltrate; to be piercingly painful; to be unbearable (of pain, itch etc) |
| 钻戒 | zuàn jiè | diamond ring; CL:只 |
| 钻探机 | zuān tàn jī | drilling machine |
| 钻故纸堆 | zuān gù zhǐ duī | to dig into piles of outdated writings (idiom); to study old books and papers |
| 钻木取火 | zuān mù qǔ huǒ | to drill wood to make fire |
| 钻洞 | zuān dòng | to bore |
| 钻版 | zuān bǎn | to cut a woodblock (e.g. for printing) |
| 钻牛角 | zuān niú jiǎo | lit. honing a bull's horn; fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem; to bash one's head against a brick wall; a wild goose chase; a blind alley; to split hairs; same as idiom 钻牛角尖 |
| 钻牛角尖 | zuān niú jiǎo jiān | lit. to hone a bull's horn (idiom); fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem; to bash one's head against a brick wall; a wild goose chase; a blind alley; to split hairs |
| 钻眼 | zuān yǎn | drill hole |
| 钻石王老五 | zuàn shí wáng lǎo wǔ | highly eligible bachelor; desirable male partner |
| 钻空子 | zuān kòng zi | lit. to drill a hole; to take advantage of a loophole; to exploit an advantage; to seize the opportunity (esp. to do sth bad) |
| 钻粉 | zuān fěn | residue from drilling; slag hill |
| 钻谋 | zuān móu | to use influence to get what one wants; to find a way through (esp. corrupt); to succeed by means fair or foul |
| 钻进 | zuān jìn | to get into; to dig into (studies, job etc); to squeeze into |
| 钻头卡盘 | zuān tóu qiǎ pán | drill chuck |
| 钻头夹盘 | zuān tóu jiá pán | drill chuck |
