等 děng — class; rank; grade; equal to; same as; wait for
请等我一下。Qǐng děng wǒ yí xià.Please wait for me a moment.
Common words: 等于 (děng yú)、等到 (děng dào)、平等 (píng děng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "rank"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "rank", including 等 (děng), 级 (jí), 阶 (jiē), 班 (bān). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "rank" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 等 (děng), 级 (jí), 阶 (jiē), 班 (bān) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span děng, jí, jiē, bān — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 等 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 等 děngclass; rank; grade; equal to; same as; wait forUseful words: 等于, 等到
- 级 jílevel; grade; rank; stepUseful words: 高级, 年级
- 阶 jiērank or step; stairsUseful words: 阶段, 台阶
- 班 bānteam; class; rank; squad; a work shift; a measure wordUseful words: 上班, 下班
Common words for these 4 "rank" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 等 (děng) — so "rank" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
等于děng yúto equal; to be tantamount to等到děng dàoto wait until; by the time when (sth is ready etc)平等píng děngequal; equality高级gāo jíhigh level; high grade; advanced; high-ranking年级nián jígrade; year (in school, college etc)中级zhōng jímiddle level (in a hierarchy)阶段jiē duànstage; section; phase; period台阶tái jiēsteps; flight of steps; step (over obstacle); fig. way out of an embarrassing situation阶层jiē céngsocial class上班shàng bānto go to work; to be on duty; to start work; to go to the office
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "rank".
级 jí — level; grade; rank; step
我妹妹上小学三年级。Wǒ mèi mei shàng xiǎo xué sān nián jí.My younger sister is in the third grade of primary school.
Common words: 高级 (gāo jí)、年级 (nián jí)、中级 (zhōng jí)
阶 jiē — rank or step; stairs
他一步步登上了台阶。Tā yí bù bù dēng shàng le tái jiē.He climbed up the steps one by one.
Common words: 阶段 (jiē duàn)、台阶 (tái jiē)、阶层 (jiē céng)
班 bān — team; class; rank; squad; a work shift; a measure word
我们班一共有四十名学生。Wǒ men bān yí gòng yǒu sì shí míng xué sheng.Our class has forty students in total.
Common words: 上班 (shàng bān)、下班 (xià bān)、班长 (bān zhǎng)
All 4 characters
Open 等、级、阶 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.