僧

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(bound form) Buddhist monk (abbr. for 僧伽[seng1 qie2])

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

亻 meaning “person” + 曾 sound ( céng )

Components 亻曾

Buddhist monk · Heisig RSH #2088

人 person + increase

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
不看僧面看佛面	bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn	lit. not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiom); fig. (to do sth for sb) ou…
僧加罗语	Sēng jiā luó yǔ	Sinhalese (language)
西棕胸佛法僧	xī zōng xiōng fó fǎ sēng	(bird species) Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis)
佛法僧目	fó fǎ sēng mù	Coraciiformes, class of birds including kingfishers and hornbills
蓝胸佛法僧	lán xiōng fó fǎ sēng	(bird species of China) European roller (Coracias garrulus)
棕胸佛法僧	zōng xiōng fó fǎ sēng	(bird species of China) Indochinese roller (Coracias affinis)
苦行僧	kǔ xíng sēng	ascetic monk
僧帽水母	sēng mào shuǐ mǔ	(zoology) Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis)
僧人	sēng rén	monk
高僧	gāo sēng	a senior monk
扫地僧	Sǎo dì Sēng	Sweeper Monk, nameless monk who maintains the library of Shaolin (from Jin Yong's novel "D…
僧尼	sēng ní	(Buddhist) monks and nuns
沙僧	Shā Sēng	Sha Wujing
僧院	sēng yuàn	abbey; Buddhist monastery; vihara
圣僧	shèng sēng	senior monk
僧多粥少	sēng duō zhōu shǎo	lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom); fig. not enough to go around; demand exceeds s…
粥少僧多	zhōu shǎo sēng duō	see 僧多粥少[seng1 duo1 zhou1 shao3]
唐僧	Táng sēng	Xuanzang (602-664) Tang dynasty Buddhist monk and translator, who traveled to India 629-64…
僧徒	sēng tú	Buddhist monks
僧俗	sēng sú	Buddhist monks and secular people

Characters sharing the sound component 曾 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
曾 sound part	céng	already, formerly, once; the past
增	zēng	to increase; to expand; to augment; to add
赠	zèng	to bestow, to confer, to present a gift
蹭	cèng	to shuffle; to procrastinate, to freeload, to dilly-dally
憎	zēng	to abhor, to detest, to hate
噌	cēng	to scold, to shout at
缯	zēng	silk; to tie, to bind; surname
罾	zēng	a large square net for catching fish
甑	zèng	a boiler for steaming rice