匀 (yún) — (stative verb) even, uniform, well-distributed; (verb) to share, to apportion, to distribute evenly
Definition
As an adjective it means 'even, uniform' (e.g. handwriting, color distribution). As a verb it means to share or apportion things evenly among people.
adjective
(stative verb) evenuniformwell-distributed
verb
to shareto apportionto distribute evenly
Easily confused
- 勺biāolook-alike(classifier) centiliter (unit of volume), abbreviated from 公勺
- 云Yúnsound-alikecloud
- 句jùlook-alike(classifier) for sentences, lines of verse, or short phrases
- 勾gōulook-alike(verb) to tick; to check off
- 甸diànlook-alike(classifier, historical) a land area unit in ancient China, consisting of 64 well-fields (井)
- 旬xúnlook-alike(classifier) ten-day period (one of three divisions of a month)
Examples
- 匀Tā de zì xiě dé hěn yúnHis handwriting is very even.
- 匀？Nǐ néng yún diǎn shí jiān gěi wǒ ma?Can you spare a little time for me?
- 匀。Dà jiā yún yí xià zhè xiē rèn wu.Everyone, share these tasks evenly.
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 勻; 匀 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
呂呂lǚtwo gold plates
Sound part声符shēngfú
螾
螾yǐn勻yún
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 勻 meant a unit of weight. It came from a shape with 呂, two gold plates, and a part related to 螾 that gave the sound; the simplified 匀 is only a later shorthand.
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