How to Write 剩 (shèng) — Meaning “to remain; to be left over”

Imagine you have a pile of food. You "multiply" (乘) it by using a knife (刂) to cut away what you eat, and what "remains" is the leftover food. This connects the components to the meaning of being left over.

Write the left part 乘 first: start with the 禾 (grain) strokes, then the 匕 (spoon) on the right side. The right radical 刂 is a short left-falling stroke followed by a vertical hook; keep it slim and aligned with the middle of the left part. A common mistake is making the 刂 too wide or placing it too low.

All three characters share the knife radical 刂, but their left parts are different. 剩 (shèng) has 乘 and means "leftover"; 剔 (tī) has 易 and means "to pick out or scrape"; 剖 (pōu) has 咅 and means "to cut open or analyze". The left side visually distinguishes them and changes the meaning entirely.

剩 is commonly used for things that are left over, such as 剩饭 (leftover food) and 剩下 (to remain). It also appears in formal contexts like 剩余 (surplus). A culturally sensitive term is 剩女, which refers to unmarried women past the typical marriage age, but this can be seen as derogatory.

Common words containing 剩 include: 剩下 (shèng xià) — to remain; to be left over; 剩饭 (shèng fàn) — leftovers; leftover rice; 剩余 (shèng yú) — surplus; remainder.