TongTong
Sign in

内涵 (nèi hán) — (noun) connotation, implied meaning (of a word or concept); (noun) inner substance, depth of character or thought

Definition

内涵 means both 'connotation / implied meaning' of a word or work, and 'inner depth' of a person. For implied meaning it overlaps with 含义; 含义 focuses on the meaning a word or phrase carries, while 内涵 adds a sense of depth or substance behind it.

noun
connotationimplied meaning (of a word or concept)inner substancedepth of character or thought

Examples

  • ，内涵。
    Tā suī rán huà bù duō, dàn hěn yǒu nèi hán.
    Although she doesn't talk much, she has a lot of depth.
  • 内涵。
    Zhè ge cí de nèi hán hé zì miàn yì si bù yí yàng.
    The connotation of this word is different from its literal meaning.
  • 内涵，。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō de nèi hán fēi cháng shēn kè, zhí dé fǎn fù yuè dú.
    The connotation of this novel is very profound and worth reading repeatedly.

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.

内nèiinside
涵háncontain

内 gives inner and 涵 gives contain, yielding meaning held within.

Characters in this word

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

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
函
函hán涵hán
Same sound today

涵 is built from 氵, the water radical, plus 函, which gives the sound.

Open 涵 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsLanguage

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.