dèng
noun #15,045

Meanings

  1. 1 bench; stool

Examples

HSK 2
Gōngyuán lǐ de chángdèng shàng zuò mǎn le rén.
The benches in the park were full of people.
HSK 3
Qǐngzuò zài zhè bǎ dèngzi shàng.
Please sit on this stool.

Tips

usage
Usually appears as 凳子 (dèngzi, stool) in everyday speech. Other common compounds: 长凳 (chángdèng, bench), 板凳 (bǎndèng, wooden bench/stool), 高凳 (gāodèng, bar stool).

Components

radical
small table; stand
Bottom - pictograph of a low table or armrest stand, the indexing radical for . It contributes the physical 'piece of furniture' meaning directly: names short-legged stools and side tables. Stack 'climbing' on top of 'stand' and you get exactly a stool - the thing you mount to sit on.
phonetic
dēng
to climb; to ascend (here phonetic + semantic)
Top supplies sound and meaning. Sound: dēng → dèng, just a tone change. Meaning: originally pictured two feet stepping onto a sacrificial vessel - the act of climbing up. A stool is exactly 'the thing you climb onto,' the low platform that raises a seated body off the floor. Same phonetic in (stamp) and (clatter).

Stroke Order

dèng