| 1 | 钻 | 鑽 | zuān | zuan1 | 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 | | |
| 2 | 钻研 | 鑽研 | zuān yán | zuan1 yan2 | to study meticulously; to delve into | | |
| 3 | 钻桌子 | 鑽桌子 | zuān zhuō zi | zuan1 zhuo1 zi5 | to crawl under a table (e.g. as a penalty for losing in a card game) | | |
| 4 | 钻坚仰高 | 鑽堅仰高 | zuān jiān yǎng gāo | zuan1 jian1 yang3 gao1 | lit. looking up to it, it gets higher; boring into it, it gets harder (idiom) (from Analects); fig. to delve deeply into one's studies; meticulous and diligent study | | |
| 5 | 钻圈 | 鑽圈 | zuān quān | zuan1 quan1 | jumping through hoops (as acrobatic show) | | |
| 6 | 钻牛角尖 | 鑽牛角尖 | zuān niú jiǎo jiān | zuan1 niu2 jiao3 jian1 | lit. to penetrate into 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 | | |
| 7 | 钻牛角 | 鑽牛角 | zuān niú jiǎo | zuan1 niu2 jiao3 | 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 | | |
| 8 | 钻谋 | 鑽謀 | zuān móu | zuan1 mou2 | to use influence to get what one wants; to find a way through (esp. corrupt); to succeed by means fair or foul | | |
| 9 | 钻空子 | 鑽空子 | zuān kòng zi | zuan1 kong4 zi5 | lit. to drill a hole; to take advantage of a loophole; to exploit an advantage; to seize the opportunity (esp. to do sth bad) | | |
| 10 | 钻孔 | 鑽孔 | zuān kǒng | zuan1 kong3 | to bore a hole; to drill; drilled hole | | |
| 11 | 钻井平台 | 鑽井平台 | zuān jǐng píng tái | zuan1 jing3 ping2 tai2 | (oil) drilling platform | | |
| 12 | 钻井 | 鑽井 | zuān jǐng | zuan1 jing3 | to drill (e.g. for oil); a borehole | | |
| 13 | 钻劲儿 | 鑽勁兒 | zuān jìn r | zuan1 jin4 r5 | erhua variant of 鑽勁 |钻劲 , to study enthusiastically | | |
| 14 | 钻劲 | 鑽勁 | zuān jìn | zuan1 jin4 | to get into; to dig into (studies, job etc); to squeeze into; application to the task | | |
| 15 | 刁钻 | 刁鑽 | diāo zuān | diao1 zuan1 | crafty; tricky | | |
| 16 | 钻故纸堆 | 鑽故紙堆 | zuān gù zhǐ duī | zuan1 gu4 zhi3 dui1 | to dig into piles of outdated writings (idiom); to study old books and papers | | |
| 17 | 钻粉 | 鑽粉 | zuān fěn | zuan1 fen3 | residue from drilling; slag hill | | |
| 18 | 钻洞 | 鑽洞 | zuān dòng | zuan1 dong4 | to bore; to burrow; to crawl through a tunnel | | |
| 19 | 钻版 | 鑽版 | zuān bǎn | zuan1 ban3 | to cut a woodblock (e.g. for printing) | | |
| 20 | 有孔就钻 | 有孔就鑽 | yǒu kǒng jiù zuān | you3 kong3 jiu4 zuan1 | to deliberately squeeze into every opening | | |
| 21 | 无孔不钻 | 無孔不鑽 | wú kǒng bù zuān | wu2 kong3 bu4 zuan1 | lit. leave no hole undrilled (idiom); to latch on to every opportunity | | |
| 22 | 万头钻动 | 萬頭鑽動 | wàn tóu zuān dòng | wan4 tou2 zuan1 dong4 | milling crowds | | |
| 23 | 敲钉钻脚 | 敲釘鑽腳 | qiāo dīng zuān jiǎo | qiao1 ding1 zuan1 jiao3 | to make doubly sure (idiom) | | |
| 24 | 刻苦钻研 | 刻苦鑽研 | kè kǔ zuān yán | ke4 ku3 zuan1 yan2 | to study diligently | | |
| 25 | 开钻 | 開鑽 | kāi zuān | kai1 zuan1 | to start drilling | | |