润 (rùn) — (adjective) moist, glossy, sleek; (verb) to moisten, to lubricate; to embellish (e.g., 润色); (verb, neologism slang) to emigrate (in order to flee adverse conditions), homophonic loan from English 'run'
Definition
As an adjective, 润 means 'moist, supple' (often of skin) — softer than 潮湿 ('damp') and less glossy than 光滑. As a verb it means 'to moisten' or 'to polish/embellish' writing (润色).
adjective
moistglossysleek
verb
to moistento lubricateto embellish (e.g., 润色)(verb, neologism slang) to emigrate (in order to flee adverse conditions), homophonic loan from English 'run'
Examples
- 润，。Tā de pí fū hěn rùn, kàn qǐ lái tè bié jiàn kāng.Her skin is very moist and looks especially healthy.
- ，。Xiě wán hòu, tā yòng le yì wǎn shàng rùn sè.After finishing the writing, he spent the whole evening polishing it.
- 润。Tā zài wǎng shàng shuō xiǎng rùn dào jiā ná dà qù.He said online that he wants to emigrate to Canada.
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 潤; 润 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
閏
閏rùn潤rùn
Same sound today
The traditional form 潤 pairs 水 (water) with 閏, which gives the sound and means surplus, to show an ample amount of moisture; the simplified 润 is a later abbreviation.
Appears in
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