滄 meaning and stroke order
Azure, cold, vast (all as of the sea)
How to write 滄, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
Meaning of 滄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green
- (literary) cold
How 滄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 倉 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 滄
The water radical 氵 on the left tells you this is about water, and 倉 (cāng, granary) on the right gives the sound. Picture a huge storehouse filled with deep blue-green sea water.
滄 is a bound form, so it appears inside words rather than alone, mostly in literary or set expressions about the sea and the passing of time. The most common word is 滄桑 (cāngsāng), meaning great changes or the ups and downs of life. Example: 他經歷了很多滄桑。(Tā jīnglì le hěn duō cāngsāng.) He has been through many ups and downs.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 滄 with 蒼 (cāng, dark green or gray, as in 蒼天 the heavens), which has the grass radical 艹 instead of water. Use 滄 for the sea, as in 滄海, and 蒼 for sky, plants, or gray hair.
Common words with 滄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 滄桑 | cāngsāng | great changes; ups and downs | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 滄
How many strokes are in 滄?
滄 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 滄 mean?
滄 (cāng) means azure, cold, vast (all as of the sea). A common word with it is 沧桑 (cāngsāng), meaning "great changes; ups and downs".
How do you pronounce 滄?
滄 is pronounced cāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 滄?
The radical of 滄 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 滄 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 滄?
滄 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 沧, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does the idiom 滄海桑田 mean?
滄海桑田 (cānghǎi sāngtián) literally means the blue sea turns into mulberry fields. It describes enormous changes over time, and it is the source of the shorter word 滄桑.
Is 滄 used in everyday conversation?
Not on its own. You will mostly meet it in 滄桑, in literary phrases like 滄海 (cānghǎi, the vast sea), and in place names such as 滄州 (Cāngzhōu) in Hebei.