衡 (héng): to weigh, weight, measure
衡 (héng) is a Chinese character meaning “to weigh.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 行 (structural). It ranks #1332 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 衡 a big 大 horn 角; 行 provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 行 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 行 (háng, (bound form) row), 街 (jiē, street), 衍 (yǎn, to spread out).
Definitions
- to weigh
- weight
- measure
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA big 大 horn 角; 行 provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿻行⿱角大 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 衡 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 衡
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 权衡 | quán héng | to consider |
| 抗衡 | kàng héng | to compete with |
| 均衡 | jūn héng | equal |
| 平衡木 | píng héng mù | beam (gymnastics) |
| 失衡 | shī héng | to unbalance |
| 制衡 | zhì héng | to check and balance (power) |
| 度量衡 | dù liàng héng | measurement |
| 衡山 | héng shān | Mt Heng in Hunan, southern mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains 五嶽|五岳[Wu3 yue4] |
| 收支平衡点 | shōu zhī píng héng diǎn | break-even point |
| 分权制衡 | fēn quán zhì héng | separation of powers for checks and balances |
| 不平衡 | bù píng héng | disequilibrium |
| 热动平衡 | rè dòng píng héng | thermodynamic equilibrium |
| 动平衡 | dòng píng héng | dynamic equilibrium |
| 常衡制 | cháng héng zhì | Avoirdupois Weight, a system of weights based on the 16-ounce pound (or 7,000 grains) |
| 静力平衡 | jìng lì píng héng | static equilibrium |
衡 appears in 49 compound words: 33 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 20 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 衡 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
我们要平衡工作和生活，不能只顾一方面。
Wǒmen yào pínghéng gōngzuò hé shēnghuó, bùnéng zhǐ gù yī fāngmiàn.
We need to balance work and life; we can't focus on just one aspect.
...氏综合征孩子可生么?易位型可能来自父母平衡易位携带吗
. . . shì zèng gě zhēng hái zǐ kě shēng má ? yì wèi xíng kě néng lái zì fù mǔ píng héng yì wèi xié dài ma
... Can I have a child with Syndrome? Can translocation come from parental balanced translocation?
元宵节吃什么蔬菜?时令搭配营养更均衡
yuán xiāo jié chī shén má shū cài ? shí lìng dā pèi yíng yǎng gēng jūn héng
What vegetables should you eat on the Lantern Festival? Seasonal pairings provide a more balanced diet.
美银预期月底再平衡资金流将利好美元
měi yín yù qī yuè de zài píng héng zī jīn liú jiāng lì hǎo měi yuán
Bank of America expects rebalancing flows at the end of the month to be positive for the dollar
联储局穆萨莱姆:目前货币政策适当地平衡风险
lián chǔ jú mù sà 莱 mǔ mù qián huò bì zhèng cè shì dāng dì píng héng fēng xiǎn
Fed Musalem: Monetary policy is currently balancing risks appropriately
...「好玩城市」 擺脫罐頭式設計 反思痛點平衡營運壓力
. . . hǎo wán chéng shì 擺 脫 guàn 頭 shì 設 計 fǎn sī tòng 點 píng héng 營 運 壓 lì
[Translation pending - quota exceeded]
他失去了平衡，从梯子上摔了下来。
Tā shīqù le pínghéng, cóng tīzi shàng shuāi le xiàlai.
He lost his balance and fell off the ladder.
蔬果对平衡饮食必不可少。
Shūguǒ duì pínghéng yǐnshí bìbùkěshǎo.
Fruits and vegetables are essential to a balanced diet.
那艘船失去平衡，翻了过来。
Nà sōu chuán shīqù pínghéng, fān le guòlai.
The ship keeled over and capsized.
他设法使收支平衡。
Tā shèfǎ shǐ shōuzhī pínghéng.
He managed to make both ends meet.
Character Family
行 Radical Family — Characters sharing the walk radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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