沧 (cāng): (bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green, (literary) cold
沧 (cāng) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 仓 (phonetic). It ranks #2759 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 沧 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- (bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green
- (literary) cold
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 沧桑noun | cāng sāng | great changes |
| 沧海桑田phrase | cāng hǎi sāng tián | lit. the blue sea turned into mulberry fields (idiom) |
| 曾经沧海phrase | céng jīng cāng hǎi | lit. having crossed the vast ocean (idiom) |
| 沧桑感 | cāng sāng gǎn | a sense of having been through good times and bad |
| 饱经沧桑phrase | bǎo jīng cāng sāng | having lived through many changes |
| 曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云 | céng jīng cāng hǎi nán wéi shuǐ , chú què wū shān bù shì yún | one who h... |
| 沧源佤族自治县 | cāng yuán wǎ zú zì zhì xiàn | Cangyuan Va Autonomous County, in Lincang City 臨滄市|临沧市, Yunnan |
| 海沧区 | hǎi cāng qū | Haicang, a district of Xiamen City 廈門市|厦门市, Fujian |
| 澜沧拉祜族自治县proper-noun | lán cāng lā hù zú zì zhì xiàn | Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, in Pu'er City 普洱市, Yunnan |
| 李沧区 | lǐ cāng qū | Licang, a district of Qingdao City 青島市|青岛市, Shandong |
| 沧州市 | cāng zhōu shì | Cangzhou, prefecture-level city in Hebei Province 河北省 |
| 沧海遗珠phrase | cāng hǎi yí zhū | undiscovered talent (idiom) |
| 历尽沧桑 | lì jìn cāng sāng | to have been through the hardships of life |
| 临沧市 | lín cāng shì | Lincang, prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province 雲南省|云南省 |
| 沧龙科 | cāng lóng kē | (zoology) family Mosasauridae |
沧 appears in 28 compound words: 50 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 36 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 沧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to experience many vicissitudes; to have experienced many vicissitudes of life; to have lived through many changes
a person with talent or something valuable, but is neglected by the society
to experience many vicissitudes; to have experienced many vicissitudes of life; to have lived through many changes
a person with talent or something valuable, but is neglected by the society
Example Sentences
清晨的沧面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de cāng miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The morning sea shimmered with ripples, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
马铭言摄 杂多县地处澜沧江源头，是康巴文化的重要传承地，也是“中国藏族山歌之乡”。
mǎ míng yán shè zá duō xiàn dì chǔ lán cāng jiāng yuán tóu , shì kāng bā wén huà de chóng yāo chuán chéng dì , yě shì zhōng guó zàng zú shān gē zhī xiāng .
Photo by Ma Mingyan. Zaduo County, located at the headwaters of the Lancang River, is an important center for the preservation of Kangba culture and is also known as the “Hometown of Tibetan Mountain Songs in China.”
屠潇是云南人，多次到位于云南省普洱市澜沧拉祜族自治县的景迈山采风、旅游。
tú xiāo shì yún nán rén , duō cì dào wèi yú yún nán shěng pǔ ěr shì lán cāng lā 祜 zú zì zhì xiàn de jǐng mài shān cǎi fēng , lǚ yóu .
Tu Xiao is from Yunnan and has visited Jingmai Mountain, located in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, on numerous occasions for field research and tourism.
阿力普有一副磁性的“原声乐器嗓”，可沧桑，可暖男，最配他嗓音的就是原声乐器。
ā lì pǔ yǒu yī fù cí xìng de yuán shēng lè qì sǎng , kě cāng sāng , kě nuǎn nán , zuì pèi tā sǎng yīn de jiù shì yuán shēng lè qì .
Alip has a magnetic “acoustic-instrument voice”—it can sound weathered or warm and gentle—and acoustic instruments are the perfect match for his voice.
临沧市临翔区则围绕普洱茶和咖啡等特色产业，推出适合青少年的研学活动。
lín cāng shì lín xiáng qū zé wéi rào pǔ ěr chá hé kā fēi děng tè sè chǎn yè , tuī chū shì gě qīng shǎo nián de yán xué huó dòng .
Linxiang District in Lincang City has launched educational field trips tailored for teenagers, focusing on specialty industries such as Pu'er tea and coffee.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 沧 (cāng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 沧 and 热?
How many strokes does 沧 have?
What is the radical of 沧?
What are the components of 沧?
What are common words containing 沧?
What characters sound the same as 沧 (cāng)?
Is 沧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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