乘 (chéng) is a Chinese character meaning “to ride (a vehicle)”. It is written from 禾 (grain; standing grain) and 北 (north), and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to ride”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
禾 + 北
Overlapping structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection
Memory aid
Picture 北 (two figures back to back) tucked across a stalk of grain (禾) — two passengers riding on a grain cart.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 乘客chéng kèpassenger乘 = chéng
- 乘坐chéng zuòto ride in; to travel by乘 = chéng
Go deeper
All readings
to ride
to ride (a vehicle); to take advantage of; to multiply
坐（交通工具）；利用（机会）；数学上的乘法运算。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 乘客chéng kèpassenger乘 = chéng
- 乘坐chéng zuòto ride in; to travel by乘 = chéng
Rare readings, not taught: shèng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 乘 mean?
乘 (chéng) means to ride (a vehicle); to take advantage of; to multiply.
How do you pronounce 乘?
It is pronounced chéng.
What parts is 乘 made of?
禾 (grain; standing grain) and 北 (north). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 乘 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 乘?
丿. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 乘?
Common ones are 乘客 and 乘坐. The reading of 乘 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.