增 meaning in English

zēng

(bound form) to increase; to augment; to add to

HSK 5verb15 strokes

Meaning of 增

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zēng

(bound form) to increase; to augment; to add to

How to use 增

增 is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words like 增加 (zēngjiā), 增长 (zēngzhǎng) and 增强 (zēngqiáng) rather than standing alone. It is common in news, reports and formal writing about numbers, growth and strength. Example: 今年的收入增加了。(Jīnnián de shōurù zēngjiā le.) This year's income increased.

增 (zēng) has the earth radical 土 on the left and 曾 (céng) on the right. Picture adding layer after layer of earth to a pile so it keeps getting bigger.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 增 with 赠 (zèng, to give as a gift), which has the shell radical 贝 instead of 土 and a fourth tone. Also, do not read the right side as céng; 增 is first tone zēng.

增 in example sentences

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

所suǒ有yǒu这zhè些xiē都dōu有yǒu助zhù于yú增zēng加jiā我wǒ们men的de幸xìng福fú。

All these things serve to add to our happiness.

世shì界jiè人rén口kǒu将jiāng在zài不bù久jiǔ的de将jiāng来lái增zēng加jiā两liǎng倍bèi。

The population of the world will double before long.

在zài电diàn脑nǎo上shàng玩wán电diàn玩wán游yóu戏xì的de人rén数shù正zhèng在zài增zēng加jiā。

The number of people who play video games on PC is increasing.

我wǒ增zēng加jiā了le体tǐ重zhòng。

I've gained weight.

人rén口kǒu正zhèng在zài增zēng长zhǎng。

The population is growing.

Stroke order for each character

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

增 zēng · to increase · 15 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 增.

增加	zēngjiā	to raise; to increase
增长	zēngzhǎng	to grow; to increase
增强	zēngqiáng	to increase; to strengthen
增大	zēngdà	to enlarge; to amplify
增多	zēngduō	to increase; to grow in number
增产	zēngchǎn	to increase production
增进	zēngjìn	to promote; to enhance
增值	zēngzhí	to appreciate (financially); to increase in value
增添	zēngtiān	to add; to increase
增收	zēngshōu	to increase revenue; to increase income by (x amount)
与日俱增	yǔrì-jùzēng	to increase steadily; to grow with each passing day
增援	zēngyuán	to reinforce

Questions about 增

What does 增 mean?

增 (zēng) means "(bound form) to increase; to augment; to add to" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 增?

增 is made of 1 character: 增 (15 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.

Is 增 an HSK word?

Yes. 增 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 增加 and 增长?

增加 (zēngjiā) is the general word for adding to an amount, and it can take an object, as in 增加人数 (increase the number of people). 增长 (zēngzhǎng) focuses on growth over time, such as an economy or population, and usually describes the thing growing itself.

What is the opposite of 增?

The opposite is 减 (jiǎn), to reduce. They often appear in pairs, for example 增加 and 减少 (jiǎnshǎo), or the set phrase 增减 (zēngjiǎn), meaning increase and decrease.