Meaning
city walls; city; town
Chinese: 城墙、城市或城镇。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “cheng” becomes a different word in each tone. 城 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 城市chéng shìcity; town
- 城区chéng qūcity district; urban area
- 城镇chéng zhèntown; cities and towns
- 城堡chéng bǎocastle; rook (chess piece)
- 商城shāng chéngshopping center; department store
More Words
Example Sentence
北京是一座古老的城市。Běi jīng shì yí zuò gǔ lǎo de chéng shì.Beijing is an ancient city.
北Běinorth京jīngshort name for Beijing 北京是shìis一yíone座zuòseat古老gǔ lǎoancient的deof城市chéng shìcity。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Earth (土, meaning) plus 成 (chéng, sound): a wall of rammed earth around a settlement — a ‘city wall / city’.
A way to remember it
An earthen (土) rampart — the walled city.
Easy to confuse with
- 成‘To become’: the sound part of 城, without the earth on the left.