娼 (chāng) · prostitute, courtesan

Meanings

1 prostitute
2 courtesan

Characters

娼

chāng

prostitute, courtesan

Examples

HSK 5

古代有许多关于娼的小说。

Gǔdài yǒu xǔduō guānyú chāng de xiǎoshuō.

There are many ancient novels about courtesans.

HSK 7-9

他被迫沦为娼。

Tā bèipò lúnwéi chāng.

She was forced into prostitution.

Tips

register

Literary/classical and rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. Almost always seen in compounds: 娼妓 ('prostitute'), 暗娼 ('unlicensed prostitute'), or the historical sense of 'female entertainer'. The original meaning was 'female performer' (倡), which later narrowed.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman; female

Female radical on the left - flags 娼 as a word naming a kind of woman. The 女 radical heads both honoured and dishonoured social roles (妻 wife, 妓 prostitute, 娃 child, 娘 mother), reflecting the historical lexicalization of female occupations with this radical. Marks 娼 as the woman in a registered sex-trade role.

phonetic

昌 chāng

prosperous; flourishing

Right 昌 supplies the sound - chāng = chāng, no shift. The 'prosperous' meaning of 昌 (two suns suggesting bright flourishing) carries an ironic flavour here, since 娼 names a profession that was both economically thriving and morally condemned in traditional society. Same phonetic feeds 倡 (initiate), 猖 (rampant), 娼 - all chāng readings.