層

简 层 · 繁 層
Mandarin · pinyin céng

Meanings

  1. to pile on top of one another
  2. layer; stratum
  3. floor (of a building); story
  4. (math.) sheaf
  5. classifier for layers
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Characters in this entry

層
Look up this written character
层
céng · story, layer, floor, stratum
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · ceng2

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1character link5same-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.

層 · find source passages ↗ · 层 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cang4

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

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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 pile up; to overlap
  2. thing made of layers
  3. layer; storey; floor; stratum
  4. Classifier for things arranged in layers, storeys or levels.
  5. (Southern Min) Classifier for events.

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Teochew) Classifier for things arranged in layers, storeys or levels.

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

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