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香烟 (xiāng yān) — cigarette; incense smoke (from burning incense); (traditional context) incense offering to ancestors; posterity (by extension)

Definition

Literally 'fragrant smoke': today it usually means 'cigarette', but in classical or ceremonial contexts it refers to incense smoke offered to ancestors.

noun
cigaretteincense smoke (from burning incense)(traditional context) incense offering to ancestorsposterity (by extension)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 香烟，。
    Tā mǎi le yì bāo xiāng yān, rán hòu zǒu chū le shāng diàn.
    He bought a pack of cigarettes and then walked out of the store.
  • 香烟。
    Gōng gòng chǎng suǒ tōng cháng jìn zhǐ xī xiāng yān.
    Smoking is usually prohibited in public places.
  • 香烟。
    Zhè zhī xiāng yān de wèi dào hěn dàn.
    This cigarette has a very mild flavor.

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.

香xiāngfragrant
烟yānsmoke

香 gives the idea of fragrance or incense, and 烟 is smoke; together they name a cigarette.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →
Appears in
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