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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

给我一个碗，我来盛饭。
Gěi wǒ yī gè wǎn, wǒ lái chéng fàn.
Bring me a bowl, I'll dish out the rice.
这个壶能盛三升水。
Zhège hú néng chéng sān shēng shuǐ.
This jug can hold three litres of water.
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.

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