长 simplified
長 traditional
cháng · zhǎng
long · length · to grow · to be good at · elder · chief
部首 bùshǒu · 长 cháng long 4 笔画 bǐhuà strokes HSK 1 tone 2 (cháng) · tone 3 (zhǎng)
笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & The Dual-Reading
字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

长 cháng/zhǎng — traditional 長 — is a pictograph of a person with long flowing hair, sometimes depicted holding a staff. The oracle-bone form shows a tall figure with conspicuously long hair streaming downward. Long hair was associated with age (elders let their hair grow long) and with length as a physical quality. From a single image of elongation, the character divided into two semantic tracks.

These two readings (多音字 duōyīnzì — characters with multiple pronunciations) represent genuinely different semantic domains that converged on the same graphic form in antiquity:

cháng (tone 2) — the physical and temporal dimension: long in space, long in time, length, advantage. The emphasis is on extent and duration: 长城 (long wall = Great Wall), 长江 (long river = Yangtze), 特长 (special strength/advantage).

zhǎng (tone 3) — the relational and developmental sense: to grow, to increase, to be senior, to be the elder of a group. The emphasis is on change and seniority: 成长 (grow up), 生长 (grow/live), 长辈 (senior generation), 校长 (school principal — lit. "school elder").

长 cháng cháng Long / Length / Duration
cháng 用法 yòngfǎ · When to read cháng Read cháng when the meaning is physical length, temporal duration, or comparative advantage:
长 = long, length · 长城 = Great Wall · 长江 = Yangtze · 特长 = special skill · 长处 = strength · 漫长 = prolonged, endless
长城 Chángchéng the Great Wall — lit. "the long wall"
N 专名 zhuānmíng proper noun
长 cháng (long) + 城 chéng (city wall). The most famous structure in China — not called 大墙 "great wall" but 长城 "long wall," emphasizing its defining characteristic: extent across thousands of kilometers. Construction spanned multiple dynasties from the Qin (221 BCE) onward. 不到长城非好汉 bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn — "He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a hero" (Mao Zedong).
长城是中国最著名的历史遗址之一。
Chángchéng shì Zhōngguó zuì zhùmíng de lìshǐ yízhǐ zhī yī.
The Great Wall is one of China's most famous historical sites.
长江 Cháng Jiāng the Yangtze River — lit. "the long river"
N 专名 zhuānmíng proper noun
长 cháng (long) + 江 jiāng (large river; river south of Huai River). The Yangtze — Asia's longest river at 6,300 km — is simply "the Long River." Compare: 黄河 Huáng Hé (Yellow River) is named for its color; 长江 is named for its length. The Yangtze is the cultural heart of southern China, and its basin contains a third of China's population.
长江是中国最长的河流，也是亚洲最长的河流。
Cháng Jiāng shì Zhōngguó zuì cháng de héliú, yě shì Yàzhōu zuì cháng de héliú.
The Yangtze is China's longest river — and also Asia's longest.
特长 tècháng special skill; particular strength; forte
N 名词 míngcí
特 tè (special; particular) + 长 cháng (strength; advantage — the area where one "goes long"). 你有什么特长？"What are your special skills?" — a standard job interview question. 特长生 = a student admitted on the basis of a special talent (music, sports, art) rather than exam scores alone.
她的特长是唱歌，从小就开始学了。
Tā de tècháng shì chànggē, cóng xiǎo jiù kāishǐ xué le.
Her special skill is singing — she started learning from a young age.
长 zhǎng zhǎng To Grow / Elder / Chief
zhǎng 用法 yòngfǎ · When to read zhǎng Read zhǎng when the meaning is growth, seniority, or leadership position:
长大 = grow up · 成长 = develop/mature · 长辈 = elders · 家长 = head of household · 校长 = principal · 首长 = commanding officer · 部长 = minister (of a ministry)
成长 chéngzhǎng to grow up; to mature; personal development
V 动词 dòngcí
成 chéng (to become; to complete) + 长 zhǎng (to grow). The compound for the full arc of development — physical, psychological, and social maturation. 成长故事 = coming-of-age story. 成长经历 = formative experiences. Often used for personal development in adult contexts too: 这段经历让我很成长 "this experience helped me grow a lot."
孩子的成长需要父母的陪伴和支持。
Háizi de chéngzhǎng xūyào fùmǔ de péibàn hé zhīchí.
A child's growth requires the companionship and support of parents.
校长 xiàozhǎng school principal; university president
N 名词 míngcí
校 xiào (school) + 长 zhǎng (elder; head; chief). The head of a school at any level — from primary school principal to university president. This pattern — [institution] + 长 = head of that institution — is extraordinarily productive: 院长 (dean), 部长 (minister), 市长 (mayor), 省长 (governor), 班长 (class monitor). Knowing 长 = zhǎng unlocks dozens of institutional title words.
校长在开学典礼上发表了讲话。
Xiàozhǎng zài kāixué diǎnlǐ shàng fābiǎo le jiǎnghuà.
The principal gave a speech at the opening ceremony.
成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases
取长补短 qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn take strengths to補 compensate weaknesses — learn from others Lit: take-long-补-short. The standard phrase for learning from others to compensate for one's own deficiencies. 互相取长补短 "learn from each other's strengths to make up for each other's weaknesses" — a common formulation in team and collaboration contexts. Both 长 and 短 (short) are used in the comparative-strength sense (cháng reading).
长此以往 cháng cǐ yǐ wǎng if this goes on for long — a warning about sustained bad behavior Lit: long-this-by-going. Used to warn that if a current (usually bad) situation continues indefinitely, serious consequences will follow. 长此以往，身体会垮掉的 "If this keeps up, your health will collapse." Almost always negative — rarely used for positive sustained trends.
长风破浪 cháng fēng pò làng a long wind breaking through the waves — bold ambition and perseverance From the Tang poet Li Bai: 长风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海 — "There will come a time when the long wind breaks through the waves; I shall set my cloud-sail straight across the vast sea." One of the most beloved lines in Chinese poetry — the image of unstoppable ambition riding the great winds, no obstacle too large to overcome.
相邻词汇 xiānglín cíhuì Adjacent Vocabulary
短duǎnshort (length) 高gāotall; high 生长shēngzhǎngto grow (of plants/children) 长辈zhǎngbèisenior generation 市长shìzhǎngmayor 部长bùzhǎngminister (of a ministry) 长城Chángchéngthe Great Wall 长江Cháng Jiāngthe Yangtze River