Character

曾

céng HSK 5

曾 céng HSK 5

1. once; formerly (indicating a past experience)

Words using 曾 as céng (3)

1 曾经 céng jīng — once, formerly HSK 5
- 曾 ever, in the past (indicates past time)
- 经 experienced, gone through (emphasizes the experiential aspect)
Example

我曾经去过北京。

wǒ céng jīng qù guò Běi jīng

I once went to Beijing.
2 不曾 bù céng — never HSK 6
- 不 not (negative particle)
- 曾 ever, once (indicating past experience)
Example

他不曾放弃过自己的梦想。

tā bù céng fàng qì guò zì jǐ de mèng xiǎng

He has never given up on his dreams.
3 似曾相识 sì céng xiāng shí — seeming familiar HSK 7
- 似 to seem, to resemble
- 曾 once, formerly
- 相 mutually, each other
- 识 to know, to recognize
Example

这个地方似曾相识，但我确定没来过。

zhè ge dì fang sì céng xiāng shí dàn wǒ què dìng méi lái guò

This place seems familiar, but I'm sure I haven't been here.

Structure & writing

曾 céng — once; formerly (indicating a past experience)

曾 is a component in 4 characters

HSK 4

增 zēng to increase (opposite of 减)

HSK 5

赠 zèng to give as a gift; to present

HSK 7

僧 sēng Buddhist monk 蹭 cèng to rub; to scrape

曾 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order