Chinese word

充

Pronunciation

Pinyinchōng

Meaning

  • verbtop up

Example

我去充点话费。wǒ qù chōng diǎn huà fèi

I am going to top up my phone credit.

Illustration for 充 (top up)

More examples

我把笔记本电脑充满电后才出门。wǒ bǎ bǐ jì běn diàn nǎo chōng mǎn diàn hòu cái chū mén

I leave only after fully charging my laptop.

Core concept

Fills a space, role, amount, or requirement until the needed level is reached.

Common phrases

  • 充电chōng diàn

    charge

  • 充话费chōng huà fèi

    top up phone credit

  • 充满chōng mǎn

    fill up

Similar words

补充bǔ chōng: Add missing material or information to make something complete or sufficient.
充值chōng zhí: Add money to a phone or other account to increase its balance.
充满chōng mǎn: Fill a space or container completely so that no empty room remains.

Definition in Chinese

补入不足的部分使之满足或完整，也可指把人或物安排到相应职能以填补空缺（如充当）。bǔ rù bù zú de bù fèn shǐ zhī mǎn zú huò wán zhěng yě kě zhǐ bǎ rén huò wù ān pái dào xiāng yìng zhí néng yǐ tián bǔ kòng quē rú chōng dāng

Word origin

The older sense of 充 (chōng, "to fill") develops into adding what is missing and placing a person or thing where a role needs to be filled.

Usage tips

  • As a standalone verb it sounds formal; everyday speech more often uses it inside compounds for filling, charging, or making up a shortage.

Other meanings

  • fillverb

Opposites

  • 放电fàng diàndischargeverb
  • 耗尽hào jìnuse upverb

Related words

Word lists with this word