秤 (chèng): steelyard balance, scale, to weigh

秤 (chèng) is a Chinese character meaning “steelyard balance.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禾 (structural) and 平 (structural). It ranks #2959 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 秤 a balance 平 used to measure grain 禾. Its radical form 禾 (grain) appears in many related characters such as 秋 (qiū, autumn), 科 (kē, branch of study), 租 (zū, to hire).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 禾 grain10 strokesFrequency #2959禾 structural 平 structural

Definitions

steelyard balance
scale
to weigh

Etymology & Origin

秤

ideographicA balance 平 used to measure grain 禾

Decomposition: ⿰禾平 (layout: left-right)

Components:禾structural 平structural

Stroke Order

Practice writing 秤 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
天秤座proper-noun	tiān chèng zuò	Libra (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
秤砣noun	chèng tuó	steelyard weight
磅秤noun	bàng chèng	scale
体重秤noun	tǐ zhòng chèng	scale for measuring body weight
秤砣虽小压千斤	chèng tuó suī xiǎo yā qiān jīn	although small, a steelyard weight may tip a hundred pounds (idiom)
过秤verb	guò chèng	to weigh sth
天秤noun	tiān chèng	balance scale
复秤verb	fù chèng	to reweigh
台秤	tái chèng	platform scale
案秤noun	àn chèng	counter scale
假秤noun	jiǎ chèng	rigged scale (used to deceive customers by displaying incorrect weight)
掉秤verb	diào chèng	to lose weight (of cattle)
弹簧秤noun	tán huáng chèng	spring balance
鬼秤noun	guǐ chèng	(coll.) rigged scale (used to deceive customers by displaying incorrect weight)
秤盘noun	chèng pán	the tray or pan of a steelyard balance

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

秤 appears in 23 compound words: 30 as the first character, 65 as the last, and 4 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 秤 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

葵kuí

0.80114 co-occurrences

涌yǒng

0.64514 co-occurrences

座zuò

0.5111,958 co-occurrences

天tiān

0.4533,468 co-occurrences

锤chuí

0.41524 co-occurrences

杆gān

0.40778 co-occurrences

塌tā

0.39437 co-occurrences

磅bàng

0.39052 co-occurrences

扭niǔ

0.37548 co-occurrences

钩gōu

0.35816 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个秤字在古汉语中有不同的含义。

zhè gě chēng zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .

The character "秤" had different meanings in ancient Chinese.

東方日報Mar 2026

葵涌公屋地盘冧天秤夺命房屋署证承建商正负责5个新合约

葵 chōng gōng wū dì pán 冧 tiān chēng duó mìng fáng wū shǔ zhèng chéng jiàn shāng zhèng fù zé 5 gè xīn gě yuē

Fatal Fall from a Scaffold at Kwai Chung Public Housing Site; Housing Department Confirms Contractor Is Currently Handling Five New Contracts

Hk01.comMar 2026

葵涌冧天秤|大窝口道部份路段解封 4条巴士线仍须改...

葵 chōng 冧 tiān chēng dà wō kǒu dào bù fèn lù duàn jiě fēng 4 tiáo bā shì xiàn réng xū gǎi . . .

Kwai Chung and Tin Hau | Partial Reopening of Tai Wo Hau Road; 4 Bus Routes Still Require Diversions...

Hk01.comMar 2026

葵涌冧天秤|石头街与上角街之间大窝口道解封部份巴...

葵 chōng 冧 tiān chēng shí tóu jiē yǔ shàng jiǎo jiē zhī jiān dà wō kǒu dào jiě fēng bù fèn bā . . .

Kwai Chung Traffic Update | Tai Wo Hau Road between Shek Tau Street and Sheung Kok Street Reopens; Some Bus...

StheadlineMar 2026

葵涌冧天秤|2022年安达臣道冧天秤酿3死6伤轰...

葵 chōng 冧 tiān chēng 2 0 2 2 nián ān dá chén dào 冧 tiān chēng niàng 3 sǐ 6 shāng hōng . . .

Kwai Chung Ceiling Collapse | 2022 Andachen Road Ceiling Collapse Leaves 3 Dead and 6 Injured...

Hk01.comFeb 2026

5星座爱搞暧昧把你当备胎天秤优柔寡断这星座关心超朋友界限

5 xīng zuò ài gǎo ài mèi bǎ nǐ dāng bèi tāi tiān chēng yōu róu guǎ duàn zhè xīng zuò guān xīn chāo péng yǒu jiè xiàn

5 zodiac signs love to be ambiguous and treat you as a spare tire, Libra is indecisive, this zodiac sign cares about the boundaries of super friends

Tatoeba

请把你的行李放在这秤上。

Qǐng bǎ nǐ de xíngli fàng zài zhè chēng shàng.

Please put your baggage on this scale.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 秤 (chèng) mean in Chinese?

秤 (chèng) primarily means "steelyard balance." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2959 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 秤 have?

秤 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 秤?

The radical associated with 秤 is 禾 (grain). This radical appears in many characters related to grain.

What are the components of 秤?

秤 is composed of: 禾 (structural), 平 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰禾平 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 秤?

Common words with 秤 include: 天秤座 (tiān chèng zuò, "Libra (constellation and sign of the zodiac)"); 秤砣 (chèng tuó, "steelyard weight"); 磅秤 (bàng chèng, "scale"); 体重秤 (tǐ zhòng chèng, "scale for measuring body weight"); 秤砣虽小压千斤 (chèng tuó suī xiǎo yā qiān jīn, "although small, a steelyard weight may tip a hundred pounds (idiom)"). There are over 23 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 秤 (chèng)?

Several characters share the pronunciation chèng: 成 (to succeed), 程 (rule), 城 (city, wall), 承 (to bear), and 6 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 秤 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 秤 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 秤 with real-time feedback

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