悬 (xuán) — to hang, to suspend; to worry, to be anxious; unresolved; baseless, unfounded
Definition
Literary verb meaning 'to hang' (objects from above) and 'to be unresolved/unfounded.' In the worry sense it appears mostly in set phrases like 悬着心. Compare 挂 (everyday 'to hang up') and 担心 (general 'to worry').
verb
to hangto suspendto worryto be anxiousunresolvedbaselessunfounded
Examples
- 悬。Tā zài qiáng shàng xuán le yì fú dì tú.He hung a map on the wall.
- ，悬。Kǎo shì kuài chū chéng jì le, wǒ yì zhí xuán zhe xīn.The exam results are coming out soon, and I've been worried the whole time.
- 悬，。Zhè ge wèn tí hái xuán zhe, méi yǒu jiě jué.This problem is still unresolved and hasn't been solved.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 懸; 悬 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
縣
縣xiàn懸xuán
Same sound today
The traditional form 懸 adds 心, “heart,” to the older form 縣, which gave the sound. The simplified 悬 is a later abbreviation.
Appears in
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