残月 (cán yuè) — waning moon, decrescent moon (often with a melancholic literary connotation)

Definition

Literary word for the waning crescent moon, often evoking loneliness or the end of night. Pairs naturally with 一弯 as a measure, and shows up mostly in poetry and prose.

noun
waning moondecrescent moon (often with a melancholic literary connotation)
Measure word · 轮

Examples

  • 残月，。
    Tiān biān guà zhe yì wān cán yuè, xiǎn de gé wài lěng qīng.
    A crescent waning moon hung at the edge of the sky, looking especially desolate.
  • 残月，。
    Shī rén wàng zhe cán yuè, xiǎng qǐ le yuǎn fāng de gù xiāng.
    The poet gazed at the waning moon and thought of his distant hometown.
  • 残月，。
    cán yuè Xī chén, lí míng jiù yào lái le.
    The waning moon sets in the west; dawn is about to arrive.

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.

残cánwaning/remaining
月yuèmoon

残 carries the idea of waning or incomplete, and 月 is moon, so together they mean a waning moon.

Characters in this word

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 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

Open 月 →

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