Chinese word

成

Pronunciation

Pinyinchéng

Meaning

  • verbbecome

Example

他成了父亲。tā chéng le fù qīn

He became a father.

Illustration for 成 (become)

More examples

太阳升高后，雪慢慢变成水。tài yáng shēng gāo hòu xuě màn màn biàn chéng shuǐ

After the sun rises higher, the snow slowly turns into water.

Core concept

Something moves from not yet realized to an achieved result: a person becomes something, or a plan reaches its goal.

Common phrases

  • 变成biàn chéng

    turn into

Similar words

变biàn: Change from an earlier state to a different one, focusing on the fact of change.
变成biàn chéng: Turn into a different thing, form, or state, with the resulting change clearly reached.
变得biàn de: Become a certain way, followed by an adjective describing the resulting state.

Definition in Chinese

表示从原来的状态变为新的状态或身份，侧重变化的结果，也常用于构成表示成功或完成的词语。例：他成了父亲。biǎo shì cóng yuán lái de zhuàng tài biàn wéi xīn de zhuàng tài huò shēn fèn cè zhòng biàn huà de jié guǒ yě cháng yòng yú gòu chéng biǎo shì chéng gōng huò wán chéng de cí yǔ lì tā chéng le fù qīn

Word origin

成 (chéng, "become") has long carried the idea of making something complete, which connects the meanings of successful achievement and entering a new state.

Usage tips

  • The pattern 成了 (chéng le, "became") shows that a new situation has been reached, while English usually expresses the same change with a past-tense verb such as became.

Other meanings

  • succeedverb
  • completeverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word