冲 meaning in English

chōng

thoroughfare; to go straight ahead

HSK 4verbprepositionTraditional 衝|沖6 strokes

Meaning of 冲

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

chōng

thoroughfare
to go straight ahead
to rush
to clash

chōng

(of water) to dash against
to mix with water
to infuse
to rinse
to flush
to develop (a film)
to rise in the air
to clash

chòng

powerful
vigorous
pungent
towards
in view of

How to use 冲

In first tone, 冲 (chōng) means to rush, to dash against, or to rinse, and it appears in common words like 冲突 (chōngtū, conflict) and 冲洗 (chōngxǐ, to rinse). In fourth tone, 冲 (chòng) can mean "towards" or describe a strong smell or blunt manner. Example: 他冲进了房间。(Tā chōng jìn le fángjiān.) He rushed into the room.

冲 has the ice radical 冫 on the left and 中 (zhōng, middle) on the right. Picture water rushing straight through the middle of a channel, so strong it breaks the ice.

Common mistake: Learners often write three dots 氵 instead of the two-dot ice radical 冫, confusing it with 沖 or other water characters. Also remember the preposition "towards" is chòng, fourth tone, as in 冲我笑 (chòng wǒ xiào), not chōng.

冲 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ没méi跟gēn他tā们men发fā生shēng冲chōng突tū。

I didn't confront them.

每měi个gè人rén都dōu向xiàng我wǒ们men冲chōng来lái。

Everybody rushed towards us.

这zhè两liǎng个gè国guó家jiā经jīng常cháng发fā生shēng边biān境jìng冲chōng突tū。

There are often border conflicts between these two countries.

自zì行xíng车chē冲chōng向xiàng了le终zhōng点diǎn。

The bicycle is racing to finish.

安ān乐lè死sǐ与yǔ希xī波bō克kè拉lā底dǐ誓shì言yán相xiāng冲chōng突tū。

Euthanasia comes into conflict with the Hippocratic oath.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

冲 chōng · thoroughfare · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 冲.

冲动	chōngdòng	to have an urge; to be impetuous
冲突	chōngtū	conflict; to conflict
冲击	chōngjī	to attack; to batter
冲浪	chōnglàng	to surf; surfing
冲洗	chōngxǐ	to rinse; to wash; (photography) to develop (film)
冲刺	chōngcì	(sports) to sprint; to spurt; to dash; to put in a big effort to achieve a goal as the dea
冲撞	chōngzhuàng	to collide; jerking motion
冲向	chōngxiàng	to charge into
脉冲	màichōng	pulse (physics)
冲破	chōngpò	breakthrough; to overcome an obstacle quickly
冲锋	chōngfēng	to charge (at the enemy); to storm (an enemy position)
冲出	chōngchū	to rush out

Questions about 冲

What does 冲 mean?

冲 (chōng) means "thoroughfare; to go straight ahead" and is used as a verb and preposition.

How do you write 冲?

冲 is made of 1 character: 冲 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 冲 an HSK word?

Yes. 冲 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 冲 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 冲 is written 衝|沖.

How do I say "to make coffee" or "to make tea" with 冲?

Use 冲 (chōng) for pouring hot water over something to make a drink, as in 冲咖啡 (chōng kāfēi) or 冲茶 (chōng chá). It fits the sense "to mix with water" or "to infuse."

What does it mean when someone says a person talks very 冲?

Here it is read chòng and means blunt or aggressive in tone. 他说话很冲 (tā shuōhuà hěn chòng) means he speaks bluntly or harshly. The same reading describes a pungent smell, like 味道很冲 (wèidào hěn chòng).