城 (chéng): city, wall
城 (chéng) is a Chinese character meaning “city, wall.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 土 (semantic) and 成 (phonetic). It ranks #413 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 城 earth. Its radical form 土 (earth) appears in many related characters such as 在 (zài, to exist), 地 (dì, earth, ground), 场 (chǎng, field, place).
Definitions
- city, wall
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 城 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 城
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 城堡 | chéng bǎo | castle |
| 费城 | fèi chéng | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 汉城 | hàn chéng | Hanseong, former name of Seoul (capital of South Korea), replaced in 2005 with 首爾|首尔[Shou3 er3] |
| 进城 | jìn chéng | to go to town |
| 城外 | chéng wài | outside of a city |
| 城墙 | chéng qiáng | city wall |
| 城门 | chéng mén | city gate |
| 城郊 | chéng jiāo | suburbs |
| 古城 | gǔ chéng | ancient city |
| 城府 | chéng fǔ | subtle |
| 边城 | biān chéng | border town |
| 城池 | chéng chí | city |
| 大城 | dà chéng | Dacheng County in Langfang 廊坊[Lang2 fang2], Hebei |
| 城中 | chéng zhōng | see 城中區|城中区[Cheng2 zhong1 Qu1] |
| 东城 | dōng chéng | see 東城區|东城区[Dong1 cheng2 Qu1] |
城 appears in 100 compound words: 30 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 0 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 城 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 城.
Example Sentences
这座城市近年来发展迅速，已经成为区域经济中心。
Zhè zuò chéngshì jìnnián lái fāzhǎn xùnsù, yǐjīng chéngwéi qūyù jīngjì zhōngxīn.
This city has developed rapidly in recent years and has become a regional economic center.
肥城:外卖小哥的“暖心守护”升级了
féi chéng wài mài xiǎo gē de nuǎn xīn shǒu hù shēng jí le
Feicheng: takeaway brother's "warm heart guardian" upgraded
宁远县城管局:禁燃禁放不松懈 守护平安祥和年
nìng yuǎn xiàn chéng guǎn jú jīn rán jīn fàng bù sōng xiè shǒu hù píng ān xiáng hé nián
Ningyuan County Urban Management Bureau: ban on burning and discharge of no slack guarding the peace and tranquility of the year
“城管蓝”护“新春红” 长沙城管以坚守绘就星...
chéng guǎn lán hù xīn chūn hóng cháng shā chéng guǎn yǐ jiān shǒu huì jiù xīng . . .
Urban Management Blue Guards the New Year Red Changsha's Urban Management Officers Paint a Starry Night Through Their Dedication...
大年初一暖心事!流浪28年,盐城阜宁东站派出所助流..
dà nián chū yī nuǎn xīn shì ! liú làng nián , yán chéng 阜 nìng dōng zhàn pā chū suǒ zhù liú . .
Heartwarming Story on New Year's Day! After 28 Years of Homelessness, Yancheng Funing East Station Police Station Helps Homeless Man...
万全右卫城十二时辰:赚时辰印,当“荣誉居民”
mò quán yòu wèi chéng shí èr shí chén zhuàn shí chén yìn , dāng róng yù jū mín
Twelve Hours of the Right Guard City: Earn the Hour Seal, Become an "Honorary Resident"
奈良是个非常古老的城市。
Nàiliáng shì ge fēicháng gǔlǎo de chéngshì.
Nara is a very old city.
他在城市里一直受到噪音或者其他的干扰。
Tā zài chéngshì lǐ yīzhí shòudào zàoyīn huòzhě qítā de gānrǎo.
He was always annoyed in the city by noises of one sort or another.
很快，城市就被士兵占领了。
Hěn kuài, chéngshì jiù bèi shìbīng zhànlǐng le.
The city was soon occupied by the soldiers.
伦敦是全世界最大的城市之一。
Lúndūn shì quánshìjiè zuì dà de chéngshì zhīyī.
London is among the world's largest cities.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 城 (chéng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 城 and 盛?
How many strokes does 城 have?
What is the radical of 城?
What are the components of 城?
What are common words containing 城?
What characters sound the same as 城 (chéng)?
Is 城 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 城 with real-time feedback
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