Join free

sheng

English · Français · Kiswahili

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

sheng¹

  • /ˈʃʌŋ/
  • [ˈʃʰʌŋ]
  • /ˈʃɛŋ/
  • [ˈʃʰɛŋ]
  • /ˈʃɪŋ/
  • [ˈʃʰɪ̟ŋ]

Rhymes with -ʌŋ, -ɛŋ

Where it comes from

From Mandarin 笙 (shēng).

noun shengs

  1. A Chinese wind instrument, a free-reed mouth organ consisting of 13 or more bamboo pipes of various lengths, which are fixed at their bases in a wind chest made from a dried gourd (or, more recently, wood or chrome-plated brass). The appearance of a sheng in Paris at the end of the eighteenth century inspired the development of free reed instruments in Western Europe, including the harmonica, accordion, and symphonium (see next page).

Sheng²

Where it comes from

Blend of Swahili + English.

proper noun

  1. A Kenyan cant based on Swahili and English. English and Kiswahili might be Kenya’s official languages, but pupils tumbling out of school and students in the university canteens chatter to each other in Sheng, to their teachers’ despair. A witty, cheeky, freewheeling Clockwork Orange-style brew of Kiswahili, English and indigenous Kenyan langu

Sheng³

Where it comes from

From several Chinese surnames, including:

* From Mandarin 盛. Doublet of Shing, Seng, and Sing.

* From Mandarin 生. Doublet of Sang.

proper noun Shengs

  1. A surname from Chinese.

Translations

Every language

noun Chinese wind instrument

中文笙 shēng

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"sheng." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sheng. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sheng. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sheng

Chicago

"sheng." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sheng.

BibTeX
@misc{sheng_2026,
  title = {sheng},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sheng},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}