层 (céng) — (classifier) for floors, stories, layers; (classifier) for abstract layers (of meaning, emotion, etc.)
Definition
Used as a measure word for stacked layers — physical (floors of a building, tiers of a cake) and abstract (layers of meaning). 楼 is the noun for the building/floor itself; 层次 is the abstract noun meaning level or hierarchy.
classifier
for floorsstorieslayersfor abstract layers (of meaning, emotion, etc.)
Examples
- 层。Zhè dòng lóu yǒu èr shí céng.This building has twenty floors.
- 层。Tā shuō de huà hái yǒu lìng yī céng yì si.What he said has another layer of meaning.
- 层。Zhè ge dàn gāo yǒu sān céng nǎi yóu.This cake has three layers of cream.
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 層; 层 is its simplified writing.
The traditional form 層 uses 尸 for the meaning and 曾 for the sound; the simplified 层 is a later abbreviation.
Appears in
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