尝 (cháng): to taste, to try (food), to experience, (literary) ever, once
尝 (cháng) is a Chinese character meaning “to taste.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 尚 (phonetic) and 云 (semantic). It ranks #1610 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 尝 speak. Its radical form 小 (small) appears in many related characters such as 小 (xiǎo, small), 少 (shǎo, few), 尚 (shàng, still).
Definitions
- to taste
- to try (food)
- to experience
- (literary) ever
- once
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 尝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 尝
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何尝 | hé cháng | (rhetorical question) when? |
| 未尝 | wèi cháng | not ever |
| 卧薪尝胆 | wò xīn cháng dǎn | lit. to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Goujian of Yue 勾踐|勾践[Gou1 jian4], in order to recall one's humil... |
| 饱尝 | bǎo cháng | to enjoy fully |
| 浅尝辄止 | qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ | lit. to stop after taking just a sip (idiom) |
| 未尝不可 | wèi cháng bù kě | (idiom) acceptable |
| 尝试错误 | cháng shì cuò wù | to proceed by trial and error |
| 尝尽心酸 | cháng jìn xīn suān | to experience one's full share of sorrows (idiom) |
| 备尝辛苦 | bèi cháng xīn kǔ | (idiom) to have suffered all kinds of hardships |
| 备尝艰苦 | bèi cháng jiān kǔ | see 備嘗辛苦|备尝辛苦[bei4 chang2 xin1 ku3] |
| 尝鲜 | cháng xiān | to taste (fresh food or a delicacy) |
| 孟尝君 | mèng cháng jūn | Lord Menchang of Qi, Chancellor of Qi and of Wei during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) |
| 浅尝 | qiǎn cháng | to merely have a sip or a bite (of one's food or drink) |
| 尝粪 | cháng fèn | to taste a patient's excrement (a form of medical examination, seen as an act of loyalty or filial piety) |
尝 appears in 16 compound words: 31 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 38 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 尝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to undergo self-imposed hardships; to nurse vengeance; to endure hardships to accomplish some ambition
Example Sentences
这个尝字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě cháng zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "尝" is related to its radical.
男友赴泰偷尝“泰国浴”还找Ladyboy服务 女友得...
nán yǒu fù tài tōu cháng tài guó yù hái zhǎo L a d y b o y fú wù nǚ yǒu dé . . .
My boyfriend went to Thailand to steal the "Thai bath" and asked Ladyboy to serve his girlfriend...
...折爽喝“大苑子草莓系列”、“鹤茶楼”新品尝蜜桃果肉、“青山”请客每人一杯免费
. . . zhé shuǎng hē dà 苑 zǐ cǎo 莓 xì liè , hè chá lóu xīn pǐn cháng mì táo guǒ ròu , qīng shān qǐng kè měi rén yī bēi miǎn fèi
... Drink the "Dayuanzi Strawberry Series", "Crane Tea House" new tasting peach pulp, and "Qingshan" treat each person for free
...川地生长香氛植物“石荠薴” 花莲光复乡民尝试复育
. . . chuān dì shēng cháng xiāng fēn zhí wù shí 荠 薴 huā lián guāng fù xiāng mín cháng shì fù yù
... Sichuan grows fragrant plant "stone purse" Hualien Guangfu villagers try to restore it
视频丨跨越4000多公里 为了让援疆民警尝到家的味..
shì pín 丨 kuà yuè 4 0 0 0 duō gōng lǐ wéi le ràng yuán jiāng mín jǐng cháng dào jiā de wèi . .
Video丨Spanning more than 4,000 kilometers, in order to let the police who aid Xinjiang taste the taste of home:
7500人闹社火、品尝汉代美食,一起解锁新年最潮打..
7 5 0 0 rén nào shè huǒ , pǐn cháng hàn dài měi shí , yī qǐ jiě suǒ xīn nián zuì cháo dǎ . .
7,500 people made a social fire, tasted Han Dynasty food, and unlocked the trendiest hits of the New Year together:
汤姆尝试拥抱玛丽。
Tāngmǔ chángshì yōngbào Mǎlì.
Tom tried to hug Mary.
汤姆鼓励玛丽再去尝试一次。
Tāngmǔ gǔlì Mǎlì zài qù chángshì yīcì.
Tom encouraged Mary to try again.
大卫尝试拥抱阿曼达。
Dàwèi chángshì yōngbào āmàndá.
David tried to hug Amanda.
他尝了尝羽衣甘蓝。
Tā cháng le cháng yǔyīgānlán.
He tasted the kale.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 尝 (cháng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 尝 and 堂?
How many strokes does 尝 have?
What is the radical of 尝?
What are the components of 尝?
What are common words containing 尝?
What characters sound the same as 尝 (cháng)?
Is 尝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 尝 with real-time feedback
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