(zàng): to bury (the dead), to inter

(zàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to bury (the dead).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of (structural). It ranks #2028 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, a corpse 死 laid 廾 to rest under the grass 艹. Its radical form (grass) appears in many related characters such as (huā, flower), (chá, tea), (cài, vegetable, dish).

Native pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to bury (the dead)
  2. to inter

Etymology & Origin

ideographicA corpse 死 laid 廾 to rest under the grass 艹

Decomposition: ⿱艹⿱死廾 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:structural

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
zàng lǐburial
mái zàngto bury
xià zàngto bury
ān zàngto bury (the dead)
zàng shēnto bury a corpse
huǒ zàngto cremate
péi zàngto be buried with or next to dead person (of deceased's partner, or of funerary objects)
zàng sòngto hold a funeral procession and burial
sāng zàngfuneral and interment
bìn zàngfuneral and interment
sòng zàngto participate in funeral procession
tǔ zàngburial (in earth)
sāng zàng fèifuneral expenses
huǒ zàng chǎngcrematorium
guó zàngstate funeral
36
Total compounds
22
As first character
53
As last character
25
As middle character

appears in 36 compound words: 22 as the first character, 53 as the last, and 25 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 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

0.726100,908 co-occurrences
mái
0.67331,389 co-occurrences
0.55622,956 co-occurrences
péi
0.5218,652 co-occurrences
0.50247,268 co-occurrences
0.47711,010 co-occurrences
guān
0.4602,058 co-occurrences
ān
0.45947,358 co-occurrences
sāng
0.4553,510 co-occurrences
líng
0.4377,632 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

zàng shēn yú fùHSK 7+

lit. to be buried in the bellies of fish (idiom); fig. to drown

phrase
zàng yù mái xiāngHSK 7+

lit. burying jade and interring incense (idiom); funeral for a beautiful person

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

了解字的来源,有助于理解中国文化。

le xiè zàng zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .

Understanding the origin of the character for "burial" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.

三立新聞網Mar 2026

吴中纯花改土 夫揭原因:跟大S一样

wú zhōng chún huā zàng gǎi tǔ zàng fū jiē yuán yīn : gēn dà S yī yàng

Wu Zhong switches from a flower burial to a traditional burial; husband reveals the reason: "Just like Big S"

中時新聞網Mar 2026

大S骨灰下1周年 与许雅钧联系粉丝现身金宝山悼念

dà S gǔ huī xià zàng 1 zhōu nián yǔ xǔ yǎ jūn lián xì fěn sī xiàn shēn jīn bǎo shān dào niàn

One Year Since the Burial of Big S's Ashes: Xu Yajun and Fans Gather at Jinbaoshan to Pay Their Respects

Hk01.comMar 2026

梁小龙逝世逾两个月徒弟控诉未落 大爆婚姻名存实亡分居多年

liáng xiǎo lóng shì shì yú liǎng gè yuè tú dì kòng sù wèi luò zàng dà bào hūn yīn míng cún shí wáng fēn jū duō nián

More than two months after Liang Xiaolong's death, his disciple claims he has not yet been buried and reveals that his marriage was a mere formality and that the couple had been living apart for years

ZaobaoMar 2026

场选址近民宅 广东茂名发生警民冲突

huǒ zàng chǎng xuǎn zhǐ jìn mín zhái guǎng dōng mào míng fā shēng jǐng mín chōng tū

Clashes Break Out Between Police and Residents in Maoming, Guangdong, Over Crematorium Site Near Residential Area

NewtalkMar 2026

(影)传殡设置惹警民冲突 广东白发老奶奶掷石砸镇暴...

( yǐng ) chuán 殡 zàng shè zhì rě jǐng mín chōng tū guǎng dōng bái fā lǎo nǎi nǎi zhì shí zá zhèn bào . . .

(Video) Funeral Arrangements Reportedly Spark Clashes Between Police and Residents; Gray-Haired Grandmother in Guangdong Throws Stones at Riot Police...

Tatoeba

约翰甘迺迪被安在阿灵顿公墓。

Yuēhàn Gānnǎidí bèi ānzàng zài ā líng dùn gōngmù.

J.F. Kennedy was buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Tatoeba

谁去看了今天的礼?

Shéi qù kàn le jīntiān de zànglǐ?

Who saw the funeral today?

Tatoeba

她被安在她的家乡。

Tā bèi ānzàng zài tā de jiāxiāng.

She was buried in her hometown.

Tatoeba

汤姆的礼订在这周末。

Tāngmǔ de zànglǐ dìng zài zhè zhōumò.

Tom's funeral will be this weekend.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced zàng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 葬 (zàng) mean in Chinese?
葬 (zàng) primarily means "to bury (the dead)." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2028 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 葬 have?
葬 is written with 12 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 葬?
The radical associated with 葬 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.
What are the components of 葬?
葬 is composed of: 艹 (structural), undefined (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱艹⿱死廾 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 葬?
Common words with 葬 include: 葬礼 (zàng lǐ, "burial"); 埋葬 (mái zàng, "to bury"); 下葬 (xià zàng, "to bury"); 安葬 (ān zàng, "to bury (the dead)"); 葬身 (zàng shēn, "to bury a corpse"). There are over 36 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 葬 (zàng)?
Several characters share the pronunciation zàng: 藏 (Tibet), 赃 (booty), 脏 (dirty). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 葬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 葬 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.