余烬 (yú jìn) — ashes, embers (after a fire); (figurative) remnants of a defeated force or destroyed system

Definition

Literary word for the ashes and embers left after a fire, often used figuratively for what remains of a lost cause, regime, or conflict. A more elevated, written register than the everyday 灰烬.

noun
ashesembers (after a fire)(figurative) remnants of a defeated force or destroyed system

Examples

  • ，余烬。
    Dà huǒ guò hòu, zhī shèng xià yí piàn yú jìn.
    After the great fire, only a stretch of embers remained.
  • 余烬。
    Zhàn bài de jūn duì zài yú jìn zhōng chóng xīn jí jié.
    The defeated army regrouped among the remnants of the battle.
  • ，余烬。
    Tā zhàn zài fèi xū shàng, kàn zhe zhàn zhēng de yú jìn.
    He stood on the ruins, looking at the embers of war.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

余yúremaining
烬jìnashes

余 suggests what is left, and 烬 names ash or cinder; together they mean ashes or remnants left after a fire.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú餘Yú
Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

Open 余 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 燼; 烬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
盡
盡jìn燼jìn
Same sound today

The traditional form 燼 uses 火 for fire and 盡 to give the sound; the simplified 烬 is a shorthand.

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