冲 (chōng) — to rinse; to flush; to develop (film); to brew; to infuse (tea, coffee, etc.); to dash; to charge; to collide with
Definition
冲 (chōng) covers two ranges: 'to rinse/flush/brew' (用水冲杯子, 冲咖啡) and 'to rush/charge/collide' (冲进教室). For the collision sense, 碰 is a light bump while 冲 is a forceful rush forward.
verb
to rinseto flushto develop (film)to brewto infuse (tea, coffee, etc.)to dashto chargeto collide with
Examples
- 冲。Yòng shuǐ chōng yí xià bēi zi.Rinse the cup with water.
- 冲。Tā gěi wǒ chōng le yì bēi kā fēi.He made me a cup of coffee.
- 冲。Tā chōng jìn le jiào shì.He rushed into the classroom.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.
The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.
The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.