乘

shèng
#1,229 most
frequent character
(archaic) four horse military chariot

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

乘 first pictured a person standing in a tree, with feet on two branches, so it meant to climb a tree. From climbing it grew to riding, mounting, and making use of. The multiplication sense was borrowed for its sound. Read shèng, it means a horse-drawn carriage.

Drawn as: person atop tree; feet on branches

乘 as a component in other characters

sound2 characters
剩嵊

Ask DeepSeek

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.