How to say “once” in Chinese
once, formerly (lit.)
“Once” in Chinese is 曾, céng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
曾 is read céng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
As a surname it's read zēng. It hints at the sound of 增 zēng.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “曾”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 曾. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我曾经在中国学过一年汉语。wǒcéngjīngzàiZhōngguóxuéguoyìniánHànyǔI once studied Chinese in China for a year.
- 我曾经在中国学过2一年汉语wǒcéngjīngzàiZhōngguóxuéguoyìniánHànyǔI once studied Chinese in China for a year.
- 他曾经是我的老师tācéngjīngshìwǒdelǎoshīHe was once my teacher.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Once, in the past”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “once” in Chinese?
“Once” in Chinese is 曾, pinyin céng.
What does 曾 mean?
曾 (céng) means “once, formerly (lit.)”.
How do you write 曾?
曾 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 曾?
曾 is read céng. Tones: céng — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“once” in the lesson “Once, in the past”
This word is from the topic “Time: when and how long” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free