孟 (mèng) — (in compounds) first month of a season; (in compounds) eldest (among siblings); (surname) Meng
Definition
孟 is a bound morpheme (never used alone) seen mostly in surnames (孟子, 孟浩然) and seasonal terms (孟春 = first month of spring). It also marks 'eldest' in classical terms like 孟兄 (eldest brother).
bound form
(in compounds) first month of a season(in compounds) eldest (among siblings)(surname) Meng
Examples
- 孟。mèng Hào rán shì táng dài zhù míng shī rén.Meng Haoran was a famous Tang dynasty poet.
- 孟。mèng Chūn shì chūn tiān de dì yī gè yuè.Mengchun (early spring) is the first month of spring.
- ，孟。Zài gǔ dài, mèng xiōng zhǐ de shì jiā zhōng zuì nián zhǎng de xiōng zhǎng.In ancient times, 'meng xiong' referred to the eldest brother in the family.
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.
Sound part声符shēngfú
皿
皿mǐn孟mèng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
孟 uses 子 (child; son) for the idea of a child or son, and 皿 gives the sound.
Appears in
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