嘗Tone 2

cháng ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

嘗 · cháng

To taste;

to try;

to experience;

formerly;

once;

used to;

in the past.

To tasteto tryto experience

Usage highlights

To tasteTo tryTo experience hardshipNever beforeTo have a tasteTo sample

Synonyms

试— to try, to test
品— to sample, to taste
曾— once, formerly

Antonyms

弃— to abandon, to discard
拒— to refuse, to reject

Usage & contexts

Examples

Please taste this soup (尝汤).
I have tried this method before (尝试过).
He once lived in Beijing (曾尝居北京).
We need to experience hardship (尝艰辛).

Collocations

To taste(品尝)
To try(尝试)
To experience hardship(尝艰辛)
Never before(未尝)
To have a taste(尝一尝)
To sample(尝鲜)

Idioms

To taste gall and sleep on brushwood — endure hardship to accomplish a task(卧薪尝胆)
To know the taste without having eaten — understand without direct experience(未尝而识其味)
To have never experienced before(未尝有也)

Cultural background

Originally depicted tasting food, evolving to mean experiencing or trying anything.
In classical Chinese, often used as an adverb meaning 'once' or 'formerly'.
Strongly associated with the historical story of Goujian who 'tasted gall' to remember his humiliation.

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