乘 meaning and stroke order
To ride; to mount; to make use of
How to write 乘, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 乘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to ride
- to mount
- to make use of
- to avail oneself of
- to take advantage of
- to multiply (math.)
- (archaic) four horse military chariot
- (archaic) four
- generic term for history books
How 乘 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Two feet 北 climbing a beanstalk 禾.
Radical: 丿 (slash), shared by 19 characters on this site.
How to remember 乘
Picture two feet 北 climbing up a tall plant 禾, getting on top of it. Climbing up and riding on something is the core idea of 乘 (chéng).
乘 is a formal word for taking a vehicle, seen in 乘客 (chéngkè, passenger) and 乘坐 (chéngzuò, to ride in). It also means to seize a chance and to multiply in math, as in 乘以 (chéngyǐ). Example: 三乘以四等于十二。(Sān chéngyǐ sì děngyú shí'èr.) Three times four equals twelve.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 乘 with 乖 (guāi, well-behaved), which looks similar but lacks the 北 shape split around the middle. Also, in everyday speech people say 坐车 (zuò chē) more often than 乘车, which sounds formal or written.
Common words with 乘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乘客 | chéngkè | passenger | HSK 5 |
| 乘坐 | chéngzuò | to take (a ship, plane etc); to ride (in a train or other vehicle) | HSK 5 |
| 乘车 | chéng chē | to ride (in a car or carriage); to drive | HSK 5 |
| 搭乘 | dāchéng | to ride as a passenger; to travel by (car, plane etc) | HSK 7-9 |
| 乘人之危 | chéngrénzhīwēi | to take advantage of sb's precarious position | HSK 7-9 |
| 可乘之机 | kěchéngzhījī | (idiom) an opportunity that someone (usually a villain or adversary) can exploit | HSK 7-9 |
| 乘以 | chéngyǐ | (math.) multiplied with | |
| 乘船 | chéngchuán | to embark; to travel by ship | |
| 乘务员 | chéngwùyuán | attendant on an airplane, train, boat etc |
乘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 乘
Learning 乘 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 乘
How many strokes are in 乘?
乘 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 乘 mean?
乘 (chéng) means to ride; to mount; to make use of. A common word with it is 乘客 (chéngkè), meaning "passenger".
How do you pronounce 乘?
乘 is pronounced chéng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 乘?
The radical of 乘 is 丿, which carries the idea of "slash". Dictionaries list 乘 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 乘?
The traditional form of 乘 is 椉. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 乘 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 乘 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 乘 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 乘 pronounced shèng?
The shèng reading is archaic. It refers to a four-horse war chariot or the number four, and it appears in old texts and some Buddhist terms. In modern use you will almost always say chéng.
How do I use 乘 to mean taking advantage of something?
乘 can mean to make use of a moment, often in set phrases. 乘人之危 (chéngrénzhīwēi) means to exploit someone's trouble, and 可乘之机 (kěchéngzhījī) means an opening an adversary can exploit. In this sense 乘 is close to 趁 (chèn).