曾
2 readings · tap one to hear it
once; already; ever (in the past); former; previously; (past tense marker used before verb or clause)
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 曾 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A rice cooker on heat 日, building up steam 丷 and letting it off
How to remember it
formerly · Heisig RSH #502
horns + 脑 brain + tongue wagging in the mouth — as a component also called: increase
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 曾
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云 | there are no rivers to one who has crossed the ocean, and no clouds to one who has passed … | |
| 曾外祖母 | great-grandmother (mother's grandmother) | |
| 曾都区 | Zengdu, a district of Suizhou City 隨州市|随州市[Sui2 zhou1 Shi4], Hubei | |
| 曾几何时 | just a while before; not so long ago; everyone can remember when.. | |
| 曾金燕 | Zeng Jinyan (1983-), Chinese blogger and human rights activist, wife of dissident activist… | |
| 曾外祖父 | great-grandfather (mother's grandfather) | |
| 不曾 | hasn't yet; hasn't ever | |
| 曾子 | Zengzi (505-435 BC), student of Confucius, presumed editor or author of Confucian classic … | |
| 曾祖父母 | great-grandparents | |
| 似曾相识 | déjà vu (the experience of seeing exactly the same situation a second time); seemingly fam… | |
| 曾经 | once; already; former; previously; ever; (past tense marker used before verb or clause) | |
| 曾庆红 | Zeng Qinghong (1939-), vice-president of PRC 2003-2008 | |
| 曾祖母 | father's father's mother; paternal great-grandmother | |
| 曾经沧海 | lit. having crossed the vast ocean (idiom); fig. widely experienced in the vicissitudes of… | |
| 曾孙女 | great-granddaughter | |
| 曾祖父 | father's father's father; paternal great-grandfather | |
| 曾都 | see 曾都區|曾都区[Zeng1 du1 Qu1] | |
| 曾纪泽 | Cang Jize or Tseng Chi-tse (1839-1890), pioneer diplomat of late Qing, serve as imperial c… | |
| 曾繁仁 | Zeng Fanren, president of Shandong University from February 1998 until July 2000 | |
| 未曾 | hasn't (or haven't); hasn't ever |
Sound family
These characters use 曾 as their sound component — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 曾 sound part | already, formerly, once; the past | |
| 增 | to increase; to expand; to augment; to add | |
| 僧 | Buddhist priest, monk | |
| 赠 | to bestow, to confer, to present a gift | |
| 蹭 | to shuffle; to procrastinate, to freeload, to dilly-dally | |
| 憎 | to abhor, to detest, to hate | |
| 噌 | to scold, to shout at | |
| 缯 | silk; to tie, to bind; surname | |
| 罾 | a large square net for catching fish | |
| 甑 | a boiler for steaming rice |