凭 meaning in English
to lean on; to lean against; to rely on; to depend on
Meaning of 凭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to lean on; to lean against
- to rely on; to depend on
- (bound form) evidence; proof
- on the basis of; according to
- no matter (what, how etc)
- variant of 憑|凭[ping2]
How to use 凭
As a verb, 凭 means to rely on something, and as a preposition it means on the basis of, often before a ticket, ability, or evidence. It is common in signs and formal speech. Example: 凭票入场。(Píng piào rù chǎng.) Admission by ticket only.
The top of 凭 is 任 (rèn, to trust or entrust) and the bottom is 几 (jī, a small table). Picture yourself trusting your weight to a table and leaning on it, which leads to the idea of relying on something.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 凭 with 任 because the top part is the same, and they drop the 几 at the bottom. Also, 凭 is second tone píng, not first tone pīng like 乒 in 乒乓球.
凭 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.
凭 píng · to lean on · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 凭.
Questions about 凭
What does 凭 mean?
凭 (píng) means "to lean on; to lean against; to rely on; to depend on" and is used as a verb and preposition.
How do you write 凭?
凭 is made of 1 character: 凭 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 凭 an HSK word?
Yes. 凭 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 凭 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 凭 is written 憑.
What is the difference between 凭 and 凭着?
They mean the same thing, on the basis of or relying on. 凭着 (píngzhe) is often used before longer phrases, such as 凭着努力 (relying on hard work). Plain 凭 is shorter and common before single nouns like 票 or 证件.
How does 凭 mean no matter what?
In patterns like 凭你怎么说 (no matter what you say), 凭 introduces a condition that will not change the result. The word 任凭 (rènpíng) is a more common form of this meaning, as in 任凭风吹雨打 (no matter how the wind blows and the rain beats).