How to Write 艟 (chōng) — Meaning “Ancient warship”

Imagine a big wooden warship (舟) with a heavy 'toy cannon' (童 sounds like 'toy' in English) on deck — that toy cannon makes it a powerful ancient warship. This mental picture links the boat radical to the fun-sounding right side, helping you recall both the shape and the meaning 'ancient warship'.

Write the left radical 舟 first: a short left-falling stroke, then horizontal, vertical, horizontal, and finally a long diagonal stroke that bends upward. On the right, 童 has a vertical stroke that should be straight and central, and the overall character is balanced — the left side is slightly taller, while the right side is wider. A common mistake is making the left radical too narrow, so leave enough space for the many strokes on the right.

艟 (chōng) means 'ancient warship' and is used in words like 艨艟 (méng chōng), whereas 艚 (cáo) refers to a small boat used for transporting grain, and 艨 (méng) is the first part of 艨艟, meaning a covered warship. Visually, 艟 has the right-side 童 (child), 艚 has 曹 (a surname), and 艨 has 蒙 (cover), so the phonetic parts are completely different and help tell them apart.

Today, 艟 is very rare and appears almost only in classical literature or historical texts describing ancient naval battles, especially as part of the compound 艨艟 (méng chōng) — a type of covered warship used in ancient China. You won't find it in daily conversation or HSK vocabulary, but it occasionally appears in historical novels or cultural discussions about ancient naval warfare.

Common words containing 艟 include: 艨艟 (méng chōng) — Ancient warship (Mongchong); 艟舰 (chōng jiàn) — Warship; 艟艨 (chōng méng) — Ancient warship.