Meaning of 赏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to bestow (a reward)
- to give (to an inferior)
- to hand down
- a reward (bestowed by a superior)
- to appreciate (beauty)
How to use 赏
赏 has two main uses: giving a reward from someone higher up, and enjoying something beautiful. In modern speech the second sense usually appears in compounds like 欣赏 (xīnshǎng) and 观赏 (guānshǎng), while 赏月 (shǎng yuè) is a fixed phrase for admiring the moon. Example: 中秋节我们一起赏月。(Zhōngqiū Jié wǒmen yìqǐ shǎng yuè.) We admire the moon together at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The bottom of 赏 is 贝 (bèi), the old symbol for shells used as money, so think of a gift of value handed down from someone above. The top part looks like a roof with marks over it, like a lord's hall where rewards are given out.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 赏 (shǎng) with 尝 (cháng, to taste), because the tops look alike. 赏 has 贝 at the bottom, while 尝 has 云 at the bottom. Also keep the third tone, not shàng as in 上.
赏 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.
赏 shǎng · to bestow · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 赏.
| 赞赏 | zànshǎng | to admire; to praise |
| 欣赏 | xīnshǎng | to appreciate; to enjoy; to admire |
| 观赏 | guānshǎng | to look at sth with pleasure; to watch (sth marvelous); ornamental |
| 鉴赏 | jiànshǎng | to appreciate (as a connoisseur) |
| 赏金 | shǎngjīn | monetary reward |
| 奖赏 | jiǎngshǎng | reward; prize; award |
| 悬赏 | xuánshǎng | to offer a reward; bounty |
| 赏脸 | shǎngliǎn | (polite) do me the honor |
| 赏识 | shǎngshí | to appreciate; to recognize the worth of sth |
| 赏光 | shǎngguāng | to do sb the honor (of attending etc); to put in an appearance |
| 赏赐 | shǎngcì | to bestow a reward; a reward |
Questions about 赏
What does 赏 mean?
赏 (shǎng) means "to bestow (a reward); to give (to an inferior)" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 赏?
赏 is made of 1 character: 赏 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 赏 an HSK word?
Yes. 赏 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 赏 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 赏 is written 賞.
What is the difference between 欣赏 and 赞赏?
欣赏 (xīnshǎng) means to enjoy or appreciate something, like music, scenery, or a person's qualities. 赞赏 (zànshǎng) adds open praise, so it means you approve of something and say so.
Can I use 赏 to give a tip or a gift to a friend?
赏 suggests giving downward from a superior, so using it with friends or equals can sound condescending. Online, 打赏 (dǎshǎng) is commonly used for tipping content creators, but for gifts between friends use 送 (sòng).