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奎 (kuí) — one of the 28 lunar mansions (constellations) in traditional Chinese astronomy

Definition

奎 (kuí) refers to Kui, one of the 28 lunar mansions (二十八宿) in traditional Chinese astronomy, associated with literary fortune. It appears almost only in the fixed compound 奎宿 or in classical/astronomical contexts.

noun
one of the 28 lunar mansions (constellations) in traditional Chinese astronomy

Examples

  • 奎。
    kuí Sù shì èr shí bā xīng xiù zhī yī.
    Kui is one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions.
  • 奎。
    Gǔ rén rèn wéi kuí xīng zhǎng guǎn wén yùn.
    The ancients believed that the star Kui governs literary fortune.
  • 奎？
    Nǐ dú guò guān yú kuí sù de gǔ dài chuán shuō ma?
    Have you read the ancient legends about the Kui constellation?

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī奎kuí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奎 is built from 大 and 圭. The 圭 part gives the sound and originally showed two ritual axes, not earth.

Appears in
Sky & Space

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