声 (shēng): sound, voice, tone
声 (shēng) is a Chinese character meaning “sound.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 士 (structural). It ranks #195 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 声 simplified form of 聲; see that character for the etymology. Its radical form 士 (scholar) appears in many related characters such as 士 (shì, member of the senior ministerial class (old)), 壮 (zhuàng, Zhuang ethnic group of Guangxi, the PRC's second most numerous ethnic group), 壶 (hú, pot).
Definitions
- sound
- voice
- tone
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSimplified form of 聲; see that character for the etymology
Stroke Order
Practice writing 声 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 声
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 声音noun | shēng yīn | sound | 3 |
| 掌声noun | zhǎng shēng | applause | 5 |
| 歌声noun | gē shēng | singing voice | 4 |
| 响声noun | xiǎng shēng | noise | 5 |
| 噪声noun | zào shēng | noise | 6 |
| 声调noun | shēng diào | tone | 6 |
| 相声noun | xiàng sheng | comic dialogue | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大声adjective | dà shēng | loud voice |
| 声明noun | shēng míng | to state |
| 声称verb | shēng chēng | to claim |
| 名声noun | míng shēng | reputation |
| 小声 | xiǎo shēng | in a low voice |
| 枪声 | qiāng shēng | crack |
| 铃声noun | líng shēng | ring |
| 笑声noun | xiào shēng | laughter |
| 风声noun | fēng shēng | sound of the wind |
| 叫声noun | jiào shēng | yelling (sound made by person) |
| 声誉noun | shēng yù | reputation |
| 心声 | xīn shēng | heartfelt wish |
| 钟声 | zhōng shēng | the sound of a bell |
| 虚张声势 | xū zhāng shēng shì | (idiom) to bluff |
| 无声adjective | wú shēng | soundless |
声 appears in 108 compound words: 28 as the first character, 67 as the last, and 6 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 声 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (40)
Showing 12 of 40 idioms containing 声.
Example Sentences
声字在不同的语境中有不同的用法。
shēng zì zài bù tóng de yǔ jìng zhōng yǒu bù tóng de yòng fǎ .
The character "声" has different usages in different contexts.
新春长假尾声至 内地客最后冲刺
xīn chūn cháng jiǎ wěi shēng zhì nèi dì kè zuì hòu chōng cì
The end of the Chinese New Year holiday is the last sprint of mainland guests
...赴美设点开出第一枪 API石油钢管大厂天声将斥资13亿元前进德州
. . . fù měi shè diǎn kāi chū dì yī qiāng A P I shí yóu gāng guǎn dà hǎn tiān shēng jiāng chì zī 1 3 yì yuán qián jìn dé zhōu
... Go to the United States to set up a point and fire the first shot API petroleum steel pipe manufacturer Tiansheng will spend 1.3 billion yuan to advance to Texas
倾销争议 天声董事长张水圳曾硬杠美政府
qīng xiāo zhēng yì tiān shēng dǒng shì cháng zhāng shuǐ 圳 céng yìng gàng měi zhèng fǔ
Dumping controversy Tiansheng Chairman Zhang Shuizhen once slammed the US government
黄洛妍神倒模叶蒨文唱功 李尹嫣献声赢奖金
huáng 洛 妍 shén dǎo mó xié 蒨 wén chàng gōng lǐ 尹 嫣 xiàn shēng yíng jiǎng jīn
Huang Luoyan is a divine model Ye Qianwen singing skills Li Yinyan contributed her voice to win the prize money
《超夜》詹老师惊传过世!詹雅雯崩溃发声:太心痛了
chāo yè 詹 lǎo shī jīng chuán guò shì ! 詹 yǎ 雯 bēng kuì fā shēng : tài xīn tòng le
"Super Night" Teacher Zhan passed away! Zhan Yawen collapsed and spoke: It's so heartbreaking
您能把收音机开小声一点吗？
Nín néng bǎ shōuyīnjī kāi xiǎoshēng yīdiǎn ma?
Could you turn down the radio?
你听到了点击声吗？
Nǐ tīngdào le diǎnjī shēng ma?
Did you hear the click?
你是在什么时候听到那一下枪声的？
Nǐ shì zài shénme shíhou tīngdào nà yīxià qiāngshēng de?
At what time did you hear the gunshot?
你能大声点讲吗？我听不太清。
Nǐ néng dàshēng diǎn jiǎng ma? wǒ tīng bù tài qīng.
Could you please talk a bit louder? I can't hear very well.
Character Family
士 Radical Family — Characters sharing the scholar radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 声 (shēng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 声 have?
What is the radical of 声?
What are the components of 声?
What are common words containing 声?
What characters sound the same as 声 (shēng)?
Is 声 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 声 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.