Meaning of 乘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to ride
- to mount
- to make use of
- to avail oneself of
- to take advantage of
- to multiply (math.)
- Buddhist sect or creed
- surname Cheng
- old variant of 乘[cheng2]
- (archaic) four horse military chariot
- (archaic) four
- generic term for history books
How to use 乘
In modern Chinese 乘 (chéng) mostly appears in formal words for travel, like 乘坐 (chéngzuò) and 乘客 (chéngkè), and in math for multiplication. It also means to seize an opportunity, as in 乘机 (chéngjī). Example: 三乘四等于十二。(Sān chéng sì děngyú shí'èr.) Three times four equals twelve.
Picture 乘 (chéng) as a person standing on top of a tree with arms spread out, riding high above the ground. From that idea of mounting something, it extends to riding a vehicle and taking advantage of a chance.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 乘 (chéng) with 乖 (guāi, well-behaved), which looks similar but lacks the two side strokes in the middle. Also, in everyday speech people say 坐车 (zuò chē) more than 乘车 (chéng chē), which sounds formal or written.
乘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
乘 chéng · to ride · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 乘.
| 乘客 | chéngkè | passenger |
| 乘坐 | chéngzuò | to take (a ship, plane etc); to ride (in a train or other vehicle) |
| 乘车 | chéng chē | to ride (in a car or carriage); to drive |
| 搭乘 | dāchéng | to ride as a passenger; to travel by (car, plane etc) |
| 乘人之危 | chéngrénzhīwēi | to take advantage of sb's precarious position |
| 可乘之机 | kěchéngzhījī | (idiom) an opportunity that someone (usually a villain or adversary) can exploit |
| 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 |
Questions about 乘
What does 乘 mean?
乘 (chéng) means "to ride; to mount" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 乘?
乘 is made of 1 character: 乘 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 乘 an HSK word?
Yes. 乘 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 乘 pronounced shèng instead of chéng?
The reading shèng is archaic and refers to a four horse war chariot or to history books. You will mostly see it in classical texts, so for daily use you can stick with chéng.
What is the difference between 乘 and 坐 for taking transport?
Both can mean to ride in a vehicle, but 坐 (zuò) is the normal spoken choice, as in 坐飞机 (zuò fēijī). 乘 and 乘坐 sound more formal and appear in announcements, signs and writing.