腾 meaning and stroke order
(bound form) to gallop; to prance; (bound form) to soar; to hover; to make room; to clear out; to vacate
How to write 腾, 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.
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Meaning of 腾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to gallop; to prance
- (bound form) to soar; to hover
- to make room; to clear out; to vacate
- (verb suffix indicating repeated action)
How 腾 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Horse.
马 gives the meaning and 朕 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 腾
腾 is built from 朕 (zhèn), which gives the sound, and 马 (mǎ, horse) at the bottom, which gives the meaning. Picture a horse leaping up and galloping, and you get the idea of soaring and rising.
腾 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears in words like 沸腾 (fèiténg, to boil) and 热腾腾 (rèténgténg, steaming hot), and as a verb in 腾出 (téngchū, to free up time or space). Example: 你能腾出点时间吗？(Nǐ néng téngchū diǎn shíjiān ma?) Can you free up some time?
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 腾 with 藤 (téng, vine), which has the same sound but a grass radical on top and 水 at the bottom instead of 马. Also note that in 折腾 (zhēteng) and 闹腾 (nàoteng) the 腾 is said in the neutral tone.
Common words with 腾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 折腾 | zhēteng | to toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly); to repeat sth over and over again | HSK 7-9 |
| 沸腾 | fèiténg | (of a liquid) to boil; (of sentiments etc) to boil over | HSK 7-9 |
| 热腾腾 | rèténgténg | steaming hot; (fig.) bustling | HSK 7-9 |
| 腾出 | téngchū | to make (some time or space) available (for sb) | |
| 图腾 | túténg | totem (loanword) | |
| 热血沸腾 | rèxuèfèiténg | (idiom) to be fired up; to have one's blood racing; to be burning (with excitement, passio | |
| 闹腾 | nàoteng | to disturb; to create confusion |
腾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 腾
How many strokes are in 腾?
腾 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 腾 mean?
腾 (téng) means (bound form) to gallop; to prance; (bound form) to soar; to hover; to make room; to clear out; to vacate. A common word with it is 折腾 (zhēteng), meaning "to toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly); to repeat sth over and over again".
How do you pronounce 腾?
腾 is pronounced téng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 腾?
The radical of 腾 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 腾 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 腾?
The traditional form of 腾 is 騰. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 腾 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 腾 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 腾 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 折腾 mean in everyday speech?
折腾 (zhēteng) means to toss and turn, or to do something over and over in a tiring way. People often say 别折腾了 (bié zhēteng le), meaning stop fussing or stop making a hassle.
Why does 图腾 mean totem?
图腾 (túténg) is a loanword chosen for its sound, imitating the English word totem. The individual meanings of 图 and 腾 are not what give the word its sense.