ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

称 chēng balanced

balanced; name; to call; to weigh; to praise

How to remember 称: 禾 grain + 尔 you = balanced. Playing a medieval miller, the boy pours grain into both pans of the scale and declares "You are perfectly balanced!"

  • HSK 5
  • 10 strokes
  • Radical 禾

Component breakdown

称 = 禾 grain + 尔 you

  • 禾 grain
  • 尔 you
The Gushi story

Playing a medieval miller, the boy pours grain into both pans of the scale and declares "You are perfectly balanced!"

How it is used

  • Polyphone: as chēng it's a verb meaning "to call/name" or "to weigh" - 称为/称作 (chēngwéi/chēngzuò) "to be called/referred to as", and 名称 (míngchēng) is the formal written word for "name" (of an organization/product), more formal than everyday 名字.
  • 称赞 (chēngzàn) "to praise" and 称号 (chēnghào) "title, designation" also use this chēng reading.
  • As chèn it means "to fit, match" - 对称 (duìchèn) "symmetry/symmetrical" and 称职 (chènzhí) "competent, well-suited to the job" both use this reading, and mispronouncing them as chēng is a common learner error.
  • 俗称 (súchēng) "commonly known as" (chēng reading) is frequent in explanatory writing: 番茄，俗称西红柿 "tomato, commonly called xihongshi".

Words with 称