层

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 层 (céng) for "layer" or "level" is composed of two parts: the radical 土 (tǔ) meaning "earth" or "soil", and the phonetic component 重 (chóng) meaning "heavy" or "double". The character 层 originally meant "a layer of earth" or "a level of soil", and it was later extended to mean "a layer" or "a level" in a more general sense.The radical 土 (tǔ) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese characters, and it is used to represent words related to earth, soil, and land. The phonetic component 重 (chóng) is also a common character, and it is used to represent words related to weight, heaviness, and repetition.The combination of the radical 土 and the phonetic component 重 in the character 层 creates a character that represents something that is heavy and layered, like a layer of earth or a stack of objects. The character 层 can be used in a variety of contexts to refer to layers, levels, or tiers of different things, such as layers of clothing, levels of a building, or tiers of a government.