岚 (lán) — mountain mist, haze (used in literary / scenic contexts)

Definition

Literary/poetic word for mountain mist or haze — used almost only in scenic writing and place names, not in daily speech.

bound form
mountain misthaze (used in literary / scenic contexts)

Examples

  • 岚。
    Qīng chén de shān lán rú shī rú huà.
    The mountain mist at dawn is poetic and picturesque.
  • 岚,。
    Yuǎn chù lán wù liáo rào, kàn bù qīng chǔ.
    The distant mist and haze hung in the air, making it hard to see clearly.
  • 岚岫。
    Zhè fú huà zhōng de lán xiù hěn chuán shén.
    The misty peaks in this painting are very vivid.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 嵐; 岚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
葻
葻lán嵐lán
Same sound today

The traditional form 嵐 combines 山 (mountain) with a sound part, 葻; the simplified 岚 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical components.

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