腾

騰

téng

月 + 马 + 龹

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

téng (verb) to soar; to rise

téng (verb) to gallop; to prance

téng (verb) to clear; to vacate

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 马 represents the meaning and 朕 represents the sound. Simplified form of 騰.

Semantic: 马 Phonetic: 朕

About

The character 腾 is the simplified form of the traditional 騰, a phono-semantic compound. It is composed of the semantic radical 马 (horse) at the bottom and the phonetic component 朕 at the top. The horse radical indicates the original literal meaning: a horse galloping, prancing, or leaping into the air. From this vivid image of upward movement, the meaning extended to anything rising or soaring, such as steam rising or prices increasing. Over time, it also came to mean clearing out a space or making room by moving things aside.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我腾出时间帮你。

Wǒ téng chū shíjiān bāng nǐ.

I will make time to help you.

鸟儿在天空腾飞。

Niǎo er zài tiānkōng téngfēi.

Birds are soaring in the sky.

他腾空跳了起来。

Tā téngkōng tiào le qǐlái.

He jumped up into the air.

马儿在草原奔腾。

Mǎ er zài cǎoyuán bēnténg.

Horses are galloping on the grassland.

我们需要腾出空间。

Wǒmen xūyào téng chū kōngjiān.

We need to make some space.

经济正在腾飞发展。

Jīngjì zhèngzài téngfēi fāzhǎn.

The economy is taking off and developing.

他腾挪资金以应对危机。

Tā téngnuó zījīn yǐ yìngduì wēijī.

He reallocated funds to cope with the crisis.

云雾腾升笼罩了山峰。

Yúnwù téng shēng lǒngzhào le shānfēng.

The clouds and mist rose and enveloped the mountain peak.

Related Characters

Component: 月

Component: 马

Component: 龹

腾