What does the measure word “串” mean in Chinese?

In this fruit-vocabulary clip, grapes never come alone: 一串葡萄, “a string of grapes.” 串 (chuàn) is the measure word for anything threaded or clustered on a line — and the character is a little picture of exactly that: two things skewered on a stick. It’s also a street-food star: 羊肉串, lamb skewers, is where many learners meet 串 first, hot off the grill.

Once you see the string, it’s everywhere: 一串钥匙 (a bunch of keys), 一串珍珠 (a string of pearls), 一串数字 (a string of digits). 串 moonlights as a verb, too: 串门 (chuànmén) — literally “to thread through doors” — means dropping in on friends and neighbors, stringing their homes together like beads.