Meaning of 藏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to conceal
- to hide away
- to harbor
- to store
- to collect
- storehouse
- depository
- Buddhist or Taoist scripture
- Tibetan ethnic group
- Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xi1 zang4 Zi4 zhi4 qu1])
How to use 藏
As a verb, 藏 (cáng) means to hide or to store something away, and it often appears in words like 隐藏 (yǐncáng) and 收藏 (shōucáng). 他把钱藏在床下。(Tā bǎ qián cáng zài chuáng xià.) He hid the money under the bed.
藏 has the grass radical 艹 on top of 臧 (zāng). Picture something tucked away under a layer of grass, hidden from view.
Common mistake: Learners often read 宝藏 as bǎocáng, but here it is zàng, meaning a store of treasure. Use cáng for the action of hiding and zàng for a storehouse, scriptures, or Tibet.
藏 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.
藏 cáng · to conceal · 17 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 藏.
| 隐藏 | yǐncáng | to hide; to conceal |
| 收藏 | shōucáng | to collect (works of art, dolls, antiques etc); to put away for safekeeping; (Internet) to |
| 宝藏 | bǎozàng | precious mineral deposits; hidden treasure |
| 藏身 | cángshēn | to hide; to go into hiding |
| 躲藏 | duǒcáng | to conceal oneself; to go into hiding |
| 捉迷藏 | zhuōmícáng | to play hide-and-seek |
| 藏匿 | cángnì | to cover up; to conceal |
| 珍藏 | zhēncáng | a collection of rare and valuable items; to collect (such items) |
| 埋藏 | máicáng | to bury; to hide by burying |
| 藏品 | cángpǐn | museum piece; collector's item |
| 蕴藏 | yùncáng | to hold in store; to contain (untapped reserves etc) |
| 矿藏 | kuàngcáng | mineral resources |
Questions about 藏
What does 藏 mean?
藏 (cáng) means "to conceal; to hide away" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 藏?
藏 is made of 1 character: 藏 (17 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 藏 an HSK word?
Yes. 藏 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 西藏 pronounced Xīzàng and not Xīcáng?
When 藏 refers to Tibet or the Tibetan people, it is read Zàng, in the fourth tone. So Tibetan is 藏族 (Zàngzú), and Tibet is 西藏 (Xīzàng).
What is the difference between 藏 and 躲?
躲 (duǒ) usually means hiding yourself or dodging something. 藏 can mean hiding yourself, but it is also often used for hiding or storing an object. You say 躲雨 (duǒ yǔ) for taking shelter from rain, but 藏东西 (cáng dōngxi) for hiding things.