央

Tap the pinyin to hear it

center; end; to beg; to plead

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HSK 3.0: Level 5
Old HSK: Level 6
Strokes: 5
Radical: 大 +2
Structure: Overlaid 叠加
Traditional: 央
Common rank: #1,242
Unicode: U+592E

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 央 is formed

Components 冂大

How to remember it

center · Heisig RSH #1322

St. Bernard dog

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 央

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
中国中央电视台	Zhōng guó Zhōng yāng Diàn shì tái	China Central Television (CCTV), PRC state TV network
中央民族大学	Zhōng yāng Mín zú Dà xué	Central University for Nationalities
中央音乐学院	Zhōng yāng Yīn yuè Xué yuàn	Central Conservatory of Music
中央分车带	zhōng yāng fēn chē dài	median strip; central reservation (on a divided road)
中国共产党中央委员会	Zhōng guó Gòng chǎn dǎng Zhōng yāng Wěi yuán huì	Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, abbr. to 中共中央[Zhong1 Gong4 Zhong1 yang1…
中央处理机	zhōng yāng chǔ lǐ jī	(computing) central processing unit (CPU)
中央电视台	Zhōng yāng Diàn shì tái	China Central Television (CCTV), PRC state TV network
中央军事委员会	Zhōng yāng Jūn shì Wěi yuán huì	(PRC) Central Military Commission
中央处理器	zhōng yāng chǔ lǐ qì	(computing) central processing unit (CPU)
中央财经大学	Zhōng yāng Cái jīng Dà xué	Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing
中央处理单元	zhōng yāng chǔ lǐ dān yuán	(computing) central processing unit (CPU)
中央全会	zhōng yāng quán huì	plenary session of the Central Committee
中央日报	Zhōng yāng Rì bào	Central Daily News
中国共产党中央委员会宣传部	Zhōng guó Gòng chǎn dǎng Zhōng yāng Wěi yuán huì Xuān chuán bù	Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
中央空调	zhōng yāng kōng tiáo	central air conditioning; (fig.) (neologism) ladies' man (contrasted with 暖男[nuan3 nan2], …
中央情报局	Zhōng yāng Qíng bào jú	US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA
中共中央	Zhōng Gòng Zhōng yāng	Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, abbr. for 中國共產黨中央委員會\|中国共产党中央委员会[Zhong1 …
中央委员会	Zhōng yāng Wěi yuán huì	Central Committee
中央银行	zhōng yāng yín háng	central bank
中共中央组织部	Zhōng gòng Zhōng yāng Zǔ zhī bù	Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which oversees …

Sound family

These characters use 央 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
央 sound part	yāng	central; to beg; to run out
英	yīng	petal, flower, leaf; brave, heroic; English
映	yìng	to project; to reflect; to shine
秧	yāng	shoots, sprouts; young rice plants
盎	àng	pot, cup, bowl; abundant
殃	yāng	misfortune, disaster, calamity
鞅	yāng	the strap over a horse's neck
鸯	yāng	female mandarin duck (Aix galericulata)
泱	yāng	great, expansive; agitated
怏	yàng	discontented, dispirited, sad