曾
HSK 4freq #545
Meanings
CC-CEDICT
- 1.once
- 2.already
- 3.ever (in the past)
- 4.former
- 5.previously
- 6.(past tense marker used before verb or clause)
- 1.great- (grandfather, grandchild etc)
- 1.surname Zeng
CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA
Wiktionary
- 1.already; ever; once (in the past); previously
- 2.great-
- 3.unexpectedly
- 4.a surname, Zeng
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Etymology
Pictogram (象形) – a cooker for steaming food. The derivative 甑 (OC *ʔsɯŋs) refers to the original word. Later jiajie (假借) for 曾 (OC *ʔsɯːŋ, *zɯːŋ, “once already”). In the bronze inscriptions, a decorative 口 was added, which further evolved into 曰.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Stroke order
Components
Components from cjk-decomp · MIT
Example sentences
冰島曾屬於丹麥。
Iceland belonged to Denmark.
我高中时曾打网球
I played tennis in high school.
湯姆曾是謙遜的。
Tom was humble.
他曾去過北海道。
He has been to Hokkaido.
曾經有一個意外。
There's been an accident.
我高中时曾打网球
I used to play tennis in high school.
Sentences from Tatoeba · CC-BY 2.0 FR
More examples & usage (AI)
Synonyms
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Derived terms
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Related words
曾经 once不曾 hasn't yet; hasn't ever曾孙 great-grandson曾巩 Zeng Gong (1019–1083), Song dynasty writer, one of the eight giants 唐宋八大家[Táng Sòng bā dà jiā]曾都 see 曾都区[Zēng dū Qū]曾朴 Zeng Pu (1872–1935), novelist and publisher曾子 Zengzi (505-435 BC), student of Confucius, presumed editor or author of Confucian classic the Great Learning 大学[Dà xué]曾祖 great-grandfather (father of one's paternal grandfather)未曾 hasn't (or haven't); hasn't ever曾参 Zeng Shen (505-435 BC), a.k.a. 曾子[Zēng zǐ], student of Confucius, presumed editor or author of Confucian classic the Great Learning 大学[Dà xué]何曾 did I ever ...? (or "did he ever ...?" etc)曾荫权 Sir Donald Tsang, aka Tsang Yam-Kuen (1944–), the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong (2005–2012)