Meaning
增 means to increase, grow, or add more of something. It's a versatile character commonly used in formal and written contexts to describe rising quantities, growing numbers, or enhancement of qualities.
Usage
增 is typically used in compound words rather than alone in spoken Mandarin. Common in news, business reports, and academic writing to describe increases in statistics, growth in economy, or enhancement of abilities. Usually paired with other characters like 增加 (increase), 增长 (grow), 增强 (strengthen).
Examples
- 01今年公司的利润增长了百分之二十。.This year the company's profit increased by 20 percent.
- 02多读书可以增加你的词汇量。.Reading more can increase your vocabulary.
Common collocations
- 增加收入to increase income
- 增长知识to increase knowledge
- 增强信心to strengthen confidence
- 新增newly added
Antonyms
Origin
The character 增 is a semantic-phonetic compound with the earth radical 土 on the left and 曾 (céng) on the right providing the phonetic component. Originally related to building up layers of earth, which metaphorically extended to mean increase or accumulation.