撐

简 撑 · 繁 撐
Mandarin · pinyin chēng

Meanings

  1. to support
  2. to prop up
  3. to push or move with a pole
  4. to maintain
  5. to open or unfurl
  6. to fill to bursting point
  7. brace
  8. stay
  9. support
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Characters in this entry

撐
Look up this written character
撑
chēng · prop up, support; brace
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · cheng1

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Connected dictionary

1character link26same-tone records
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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

撐 · find source passages ↗ · 撑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caang1 · caang3

Cantonese word readings for 撐. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. to prop up; to support
  2. to push off (with a pole)
  3. to sustain; to maintain; to keep up
  4. to open; to unfurl
  5. to fill to the point of bursting
  6. (Cantonese, figuratively) to support

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Cantonese) to fill (a space); to expand

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

撐 · cheng1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 49,133
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record撐 撑 [cheng1] /to support/to prop up/to push or move with a pole/to maintain/to open or unfurl/to fill to bursting point/brace/stay/support/