乘着 (chéng zhe) — by means of; taking advantage of (an opportunity or condition)

Definition

Means 'taking advantage of' a favorable condition or moment (an opportunity, one's youth, a trend). Always followed by a noun phrase naming that condition — not a person or tool.

preposition
by means oftaking advantage of (an opportunity or condition)

Examples

  • 乘着，。
    chéng zhe Zhè ge jī huì, tā chéng gōng dì shí xiàn le zì jǐ de mèng xiǎng.
    Taking advantage of this opportunity, he successfully realized his dream.
  • 乘着，。
    chéng zhe Nián qīng, duō xué yì xiē dōng xī zǒng shì hǎo de.
    While still young, it's always good to learn more things.
  • 乘着，。
    chéng zhe Gǎi gé de dōng fēng, gōng sī shí xiàn le kuài sù fā zhǎn.
    Riding the east wind of reform, the company achieved rapid development.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

乘 was drawn as a person climbing a tree, with the feet visible.

Open 乘 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →

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