横

héng

HSK 6, 7

横 — héng

1. horizontal; level; lying across

   他把木板横放在两块石头上。 tā bǎ mùbǎn héng fàngzài liǎngkuài shítou shàng — He placed the plank horizontally on two stones.

2. horizontal stroke (the 一-like stroke in Chinese characters)

   这个字有三画横。 zhège zì yǒu sān huà héng — This character has three horizontal strokes.

3. to lay (something) flat; to place horizontally on a surface

   请把文件横放在桌子上。 qǐng bǎ wénjiàn héng fàngzài zhuōzi shàng — Please lay the document flat on the table.

4. to cross (e.g., a river); to go across

   他们横渡了那条河。 tāmen héngdù le nàtiáo hé — They crossed that river.

5. in a jumble; chaotic; disordered

   房间里东西横七竖八，找不到鞋子。 fángjiān lǐ dōngxī héngqīshùbā zhǎo búdào xiézi — The room is in a jumble; things are all over the place and I can't find my shoes.

6. harsh and unreasonable; violent (used in some fixed expressions)

   他的处罚手段太横了，不太公平。 tā de chǔfá shǒuduàn tài héng le bù tài gōngpíng — His disciplinary methods are too harsh and unreasonable; not very fair.

横 — hèng

1. harsh and unreasonable; unexpected (colloquial sense emphasizing roughness or abruptness)

   他说话太横了，大家都不太喜欢他。 tā shuōhuà tài héng le dàjiā dōu bù tài xǐhuān tā — He speaks too harshly; everyone doesn't really like him.