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盛

chéng / shèng
verb HSK 7-9 #10,989

Meanings

  1. 1 to fill (a container with food or liquid)
  2. 2 to hold; to contain
  3. 3 to ladle; to dish out

Examples

HSK 2
给我一个碗，我来盛饭。
Gěi wǒ yīgè wǎn, wǒ lái chéng fàn.
Bring me a bowl, I'll dish out the rice.
HSK 3
妈妈给我盛了一碗汤。
Māma gěi wǒ chéng le yī wǎn tāng.
Mum ladled a bowl of soup for me.
HSK 6
这个壶能盛三升水。
Zhège hú néng chéng sān shēng shuǐ.
This jug can hold three litres of water.

Tips

usage
chéng is the everyday kitchen verb: scoop food or liquid out of a pot/pan into a serving vessel. Pairs naturally with 饭, 汤, 粥, 水. By extension also 'to hold / contain' when describing what a container can take (这个 瓶子 盛 不下 - this bottle can't hold it all). Compare with 装, which is broader 'to pack/load' and covers non-food objects.
mistakes
Don't read this as shèng. If the sentence is about putting food in a bowl or a container holding a quantity of something, it's chéng. The shèng reading never takes a direct object like 饭 or 水 - that's a reliable cue.

Components

radical
皿 mǐn
vessel; dish
Vessel radical at the bottom - an open bowl, marker for dishes and containers. Carries both readings: for chéng you spoon food into the vessel until full; for shèng a piled-high vessel becomes the picture of overflowing abundance. Family: 盆 (basin), 盘 (plate), 盖 (lid).
phonetic
成 chéng
complete; become
Top 成 supplies the sound - chéng directly for the verb reading 'to ladle into a vessel', and chéng shifted to shèng for the abundance reading. 成 itself pictures a halberd-and-stake, an image of consolidation reaching fullness - that flavour of 'brought to completion' faintly reinforces both senses: a vessel filled to the brim, or a state reaching its peak. Same phonetic in 城 (city) and 诚 (sincere).

Stroke Order

盛 chéng