偿 (cháng) is a Chinese character meaning “to repay”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 尝 (to taste; to try), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to repay”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 尝
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+507F 现代字形拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验（第 1–2 笔为左侧亻，第 3–11 笔为右侧尝）
Memory aid
A person (亻) who made someone else taste (尝) a loss has to make it up to them — to repay, to compensate.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 偿还cháng huánto repay; to pay back (a debt)偿 = cháng
- 补偿bǔ chángto compensate; compensation偿 = cháng
Go deeper
All readings
to repay; to compensate
to repay; to pay back; to compensate for; to fulfil (a wish)
归还；抵补；满足（愿望）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 偿还cháng huánto repay; to pay back (a debt)偿 = cháng
- 补偿bǔ chángto compensate; compensation偿 = cháng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 偿 mean?
偿 (cháng) means to repay; to pay back; to compensate for; to fulfil (a wish).
How do you pronounce 偿?
It is pronounced cháng.
What parts is 偿 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 尝 (to taste; to try), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+507F 现代字形拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验（第 1–2 笔为左侧亻，第 3–11 笔为右侧尝）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 偿 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 偿?
人. 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 偿?
Common ones are 偿还 and 补偿. The reading of 偿 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.