尝 meaning in English
to taste; to experience (variant of 嘗|尝[chang2])
Meaning of 尝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to taste; to experience (variant of 嘗|尝[chang2])
- to taste; to try (food)
- to experience
- (literary) ever; once
- old variant of 嘗|尝[chang2]
How to use 尝
尝 means to taste food or to try something to see what it is like, and it is very often doubled as 尝尝 or followed by 一下 to sound casual and polite. It also means to experience, as in 尝到甜头 (to get a taste of success). Example: 你尝尝这个汤。(Nǐ chángchang zhège tāng.) Try this soup.
The top of 尝 (cháng) looks like the top of 尚, and the bottom 云 can remind you of a little puff of steam rising from a dish. Picture leaning over a steaming bowl to take a small taste.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 尝 (cháng) with 常 (cháng, often), which sounds the same and shares the same top but has 巾 at the bottom instead of 云. Also, 尝 is for trying things by tasting or experiencing them, so for trying on clothes use 试 (shì), as in 试衣服.
尝 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.
尝 cháng · to taste · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 尝.
Questions about 尝
What does 尝 mean?
尝 (cháng) means "to taste; to experience (variant of 嘗|尝[chang2])" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 尝?
尝 is made of 1 character: 尝 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 尝 an HSK word?
Yes. 尝 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 尝 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 尝 is written 嚐|嘗.
What is the difference between 尝 and 尝试?
尝 on its own usually means to taste, especially food, as in 尝一口 (take a bite). 尝试 (chángshì) means to try or attempt something in general, like a new method or activity, and it sounds a bit more formal.
Does 尝 have any literary meaning?
Yes. In classical and formal written Chinese, 尝 can mean ever or once, as in 未尝 (wèicháng), meaning never or not ever. You will see this mostly in literature, not in everyday speech.