唱chàng

唱

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Simplified form (簡體). 唱 (chàng, "to sing") remains unchanged from its traditional counterpart, combining the mouth radical with 昌 — two suns rising together, evoking voices joining in harmony as dawn breaks. This character originally meant to lead a chorus or intone, its visual form capturing the communal spirit of song.

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Shuowen

唱 (chàng): The character is composed of the radical 口 (mouth) on the left, indicating that the meaning involves vocal action, and the component 昌 on the right, which provides the phonetic value. In oracle bone inscriptions, it was used as a phonetic loan for a word meaning “to recite” or “to lead,” and the mouth radical was later added to specify that it refers to oral performance. The original sense was therefore “to chant” or “to recite,” from which the modern meaning of “to sing” developed.

Pinyin

chàng· HSK 1

唱chàng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin