TongTong
Sign in

成熟 (chéng shú) — ripe (of fruit); mature (of a person); to ripen; to mature

Definition

Used for both fruit ripening and people/plans becoming mature. 熟 alone focuses on fruit or being cooked/familiar; 成长 emphasizes the ongoing process of growth.

ripe (of fruit)mature (of a person)to ripento mature

Examples

  • 成熟。
    Guǒ yuán lǐ de píng guǒ dōu chéng shú le.
    The apples in the orchard are all ripe.
  • 成熟。
    Tā shì yí gè hěn chéng shú de nǚ xìng.
    She is a very mature woman.
  • 成熟。
    Zhè ge fāng àn hái xū yào jìn yí bù chéng shú.
    This plan still needs to be further developed (matured).

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

成chéngbecome
熟shúripe

The first part means to become, and the second means ripe, so together they describe reaching a ripe or fully developed state.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 4Personality & Traits3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.