存 (cún): to exist, to deposit, to store
存 (cún) is a Chinese character meaning “to exist.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 才 (phonetic) and 子 (semantic). It ranks #384 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 存 seed. Its radical form 子 (child) appears in many related characters such as 子 (zǐ, son), 字 (zì, letter), 学 (xué, to learn).
Definitions
- to exist
- to deposit
- to store
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 存 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 存
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 存在verb | cún zài | to exist | 5 |
| 生存verb | shēng cún | to exist | 5 |
| 保存verb | bǎo cún | to conserve | 5 |
| 存款verb/noun | cún kuǎn | to deposit money (in a bank etc) | 5 |
| 储存verb | chǔ cún | stockpile | 6 |
| 存放 | cún fàng | to deposit | 5 |
| 存储verb | cún chǔ | to store up | 6 |
| 现存verb | xiàn cún | extant | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幸存者 | xìng cún zhě | survivor |
| 幸存 | xìng cún | to survive (a disaster) |
| 存活 | cún huó | to survive (a serious accident) |
| 存货 | cún huò | stock |
| 库存 | kù cún | property or cash held in reserve |
| 存心 | cún xīn | deliberately |
| 共存 | gòng cún | to coexist |
| 封存 | fēng cún | to sequester |
| 存档 | cún dàng | to archive |
| 存折 | cún zhé | passbook |
| 存入 | cún rù | to deposit (e.g. in a bank account) |
| 内存 | nèi cún | internal storage |
| 长存 | cháng cún | to last for a long time |
| 留存 | liú cún | to keep |
| 残存 | cán cún | to survive |
存 appears in 100 compound words: 40 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 18 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 存 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to seek common ground while leaving aside differences; to agree to disagree
life or death; survival or extinction; matter of life and death; critical moment
to seek common ground while leaving aside differences; to agree to disagree
Example Sentences
写好存字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo cún zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write characters correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
存债感大升级!00988B进军月配债券市场...
cún zhài gǎn dà shēng jí ! 0 0 9 8 8 B jìn jūn yuè pèi zhài quàn shì chǎng . . .
The sense of debt deposit has been greatly upgraded! 00988B enters the monthly bond market...
《使命召唤》官方辟谣,否认存在独立的僵尸模式游戏
shǐ mìng zhào huàn guān fāng pì yáo , fǒu rèn cún zài dú lì de jiāng shī mó shì yóu xì
"Call of Duty" officially refuted the rumors, denying the existence of a separate zombie mode game
港股概念追踪 | 存储芯片涨价潮愈演愈烈 行业全面进入卖方市...
gǎng gǔ gài niàn zhuī zōng cún chǔ xīn piàn zhǎng jià cháo yù yǎn yù liè háng yè quán miàn jìn rù mài fāng shì . . .
Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | The wave of memory chip price increases is intensifying, and the industry has fully entered the seller's market...
退休仅存20万 大叔靠这2招10年后抱千万
tuì xiū jǐn cún 2 0 wàn dà shū kào zhè 2 zhāo 1 0 nián hòu bào qiān wàn
Only 200,000 yuan is left for retirement, and the uncle relies on these 2 tricks to hold tens of millions in 10 years
存储概念股普涨 西部数据(WDC.US)涨...
cún chǔ gài niàn gǔ pǔ zhǎng xī bù shǔ jù ( W D C . U S ) zhǎng . . .
Storage concept stocks rose across Western Digital (WDC. US) rose...
客观的历史存在吗？
Kèguān de lìshǐ cúnzài ma?
Does objective history exist?
这种荒谬的迷信已不复存在了。
Zhèzhǒng huāngmiù de míxìn yǐ bù fù cúnzài le.
Such a ridiculous superstition no longer exists.
他要求我保存秘密。
Tā yāoqiú wǒ bǎocún mìmì.
He requested me to keep it secret.
把它保存在外接式硬碟。
Bǎ tā bǎocún zài wàijiē shì yìngdié.
Save it on the external hard drive.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 存 (cún) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 存 and 材?
How many strokes does 存 have?
What is the radical of 存?
What are the components of 存?
What are common words containing 存?
What characters sound the same as 存 (cún)?
Is 存 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 存 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.