ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

尝 cháng to taste

to taste; to try

How to remember 尝: 龸 unveil + 云 cloud = to taste. The boy unveils the pot, vanishes in a cloud of steam and sneaks a spoonful to taste.

  • 1,621. most frequent character
  • HSK 3
  • 9 strokes
  • Radical 小

Component breakdown

尝 = 龸 unveil + 云 cloud

  • 龸 unveil
  • 云 cloud
The Gushi story

The boy unveils the pot, vanishes in a cloud of steam and sneaks a spoonful to taste.

How it came to be

The full form is air rising through a window, over a spoon tipped to a mouth. Something being sampled and the smell of it coming up: both halves of tasting in one character.

How it is used

  • Modern job: "to taste (try the flavor of)" - 尝一尝 (cháng yi cháng) have a taste, 尝尝这个 (chángchang zhège) try this.
  • 尝试 (chángshì) = to attempt/try (doing something), broader than tasting: 值得尝试 (zhídé chángshì) worth a try.
  • 品尝 (pǐncháng) = to savor/sample appreciatively, more refined than plain 尝. The classical "once, ever" sense is archaic.

Characters built with 尝

Words with 尝

Example sentences

  • 我带你尝一下地方风味。 Wǒ dài nǐ cháng yíxià dìfāng fēngwèi.Let me take you out to try some of the local cuisine.