HSK 5

曾经 (céngjīng) — how to say "once" in Chinese

曾经

Once, formerly

time adverb

How to use it

Goes after the subject, before the verb.

我曾经住那。

wǒ céng jīng zhù nà

I once lived there.

Rule: Expressing "once" with "曾经 (céngjīng)" →

Character composition

曾

once

经

to pass

Radicals / Keys

曰

Say

#73 · yuē · 4 strokes

糸

Silk

#120 · mì · 6 strokes

Synonyms

Collocations

曾经说过

céng jīng shuō guò

once said

曾经拥有

céng jīng yōng yǒu

once had

曾经去过

céng jīng qù guò

have been to

Examples

他曾经在外国生活过五年,所以英语说得很好。

He once lived abroad for five years, so he speaks English very well.

曾经去过。

Have been there once.

Writing

Frequently asked questions

How do you say "once" in Chinese?

"once" in Chinese is 曾经 (céngjīng).

曾经 meaning in English

曾经 (céngjīng) means "Once, formerly".

How is 曾经 pronounced?

It is pronounced céngjīng (written as cengjing). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "once" in Chinese characters?

It is written 曾经: 曾 has 12 strokes, 经 has 8 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK level is 曾经?

曾经 belongs to the HSK 5 vocabulary list.

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Grammar with 曾经

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