How to say “once” in Chinese
once, before
“Once” in Chinese is 曾经, céng jīng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
曾经 is read céng jīng: 2 syllables. 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.
On the left, 纟 “thread”.
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 “曾经”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 曾经. 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 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 曾经, pinyin céngjīng.
What does 曾经 mean?
曾经 (céngjīng) means “once, before”.
How do you write 曾经?
曾经 is 2 characters: 曾 (céng) — once, formerly; 经 (jīng) — pass through; constantly. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 曾经?
曾经 is read céngjīng. Tones: céng — second tone, jīng — first 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