称 meaning in English

chēng

to weigh; to state

HSK 2verbTraditional 稱10 strokes

Meaning of 称

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

chēng

to weigh
to state
to name
name
appellation
to praise

chèn

to fit; to match; to suit
(coll.) to have; to possess
Taiwan pr. [cheng4]

chèng

old variant of 秤[cheng4]

How to use 称

In modern Chinese 称 (chēng) most often appears in words about naming and praising, like 称为 (chēngwéi), 称呼 (chēnghu) and 称赞 (chēngzàn). It still means to weigh in everyday speech. Example: 老师称赞了他。(Lǎoshī chēngzàn le tā.) The teacher praised him.

称 has the grain radical 禾 on the left, so picture weighing a pile of harvested grain on a scale. From weighing things, it grew to mean sizing people up, which is why it also means to name or call someone.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 称 (chēng) with 秤 (chèng), the noun for a scale, since they share the 禾 radical and sound almost the same. Use 称 for the action of weighing and 秤 for the tool.

称 in example sentences

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

汤tāng姆mǔ和hé玛mǎ丽lì声shēng称chēng他tā们men很hěn快kuài乐lè。

Tom and Mary claim that they're happy.

汤tāng姆mǔ声shēng称chēng他tā不bú记jì得de了le。

Tom claims he doesn't remember.

标biāo准zhǔn汉hàn语yǔ又yòu称chēng普pǔ通tōng话huà。

Standard Chinese is also called Mandarin.

当dāng流liú浪làng汉hàn有yǒu钱qián了le, 就jiù被bèi称chēng为wéi游yóu客kè。

The vagabond, when rich, is called a tourist.

她tā声shēng称chēng自zì己jǐ没méi罪zuì。

She declared that she was not guilty.

Stroke order for each character

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

称 chēng · to weigh · 10 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 称.

名称	míngchēng	name (of a thing); name (of an organization)
称为	chēngwéi	to be called; to be known as; to call it "..."
称赞	chēngzàn	to praise; to commend; to compliment
称号	chēnghào	name; term of address
称呼	chēnghu	to call; to address as; form of address; appellation
声称	shēngchēng	to claim; to state
自称	zìchēng	to call oneself; to claim to be
宣称	xuānchēng	to assert; to claim
简称	jiǎnchēng	to be abbreviated to; abbreviation; short form
称作	chēngzuò	to be called; to be known as
对称	duìchèn	symmetry; symmetrical
堪称	kānchēng	can be rated as; can be said to be

Questions about 称

What does 称 mean?

称 (chēng) means "to weigh; to state" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 称?

称 is made of 1 character: 称 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 称 an HSK word?

Yes. 称 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 称 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 称 is written 稱.

How is 称 pronounced in 对称 and 称心?

In these words it is read chèn, meaning to fit or match. 对称 (duìchèn) means symmetrical, and 称心 (chènxīn) means satisfying or just what you wanted.

What is the difference between 称 and 叫 for naming?

叫 (jiào) is the everyday word, as in 我叫小明. 称 and 称为 sound more formal and are common in writing, for example 北京被称为首都 (Běijīng bèi chēngwéi shǒudū).