HSK 3 · Common Objects

层 céng “mw for layers” in Chinese

Traditional 層

What 层 means

  1. mw for layers, floors of buildings
  2. to pile on top of one another
  3. layer
  4. stratum
  5. floor (of a building)
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • story
  • (maths.) sheaf
  • classifier for layers

How to say 层

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale层céng2nd tone, rising

层 in a sentence

  1. 你住在哪层楼？

    Nǐ zhù zài nǎ céng lóu?

    Which floor do you live on?

    Sentence #9419166 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我家在十八层，主卧和客厅都面朝南方。

    Wǒ jiā zài shíbā céng, zhǔwò hé kètīng dōu miàn cháo nánfāng.

    Our flat is on the 18th floor, and both the main bedroom and the living room face south.

    Sentence #11236453 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 冬天我会盖着两层毯子睡觉。

    Dōngtiān wǒ huì gài zhe liǎng céng tǎnzi shuìjiào.

    In winter I sleep under two blankets.

    Sentence #14023319 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 层 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 层 (céng) with each of its parts in a different colour
层céngto pile on top of one another
  • 尸corpse · shī
  • 云cloud · yún

How to write 层

层 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

层 (céng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 层 (céng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 层

Words with 层

阶层jiēcéng · social class层次céngcì · level层出不穷céngchūbùqióng · to emerge one after another

More words: Everyday Things

护照hùzhào · passport辆liàng · mw for vehicles自行车zìxíngchē · bike冰箱bīngxiāng · refrigerator灯dēng · lamp电子邮件diànzǐ yóujiàn · email段duàn · paragraph分fēn · divide

FAQs

层 (céng) means “mw for layers, floors of buildings” or “to pile on top of one another”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it céng: céng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 层 is written 層. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ceng with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 层 from the suggestions. Typing ceng into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
层 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.