膺 (yīng) — (bound form) to bear, to receive (e.g., 膺命, 膺选); (bound form) to attack, to strike (e.g., 膺惩)

Definition

膺 (yīng) is a literary bound form meaning 'to bear/receive' (as in 膺命 'receive a mandate') or 'to strike/punish' (as in 膺惩 'to chastise'). It only appears inside set compounds, never alone, and reads as formal-written Chinese.

bound form
to bearto receive (e.g., 膺命, 膺选)to attackto strike (e.g., 膺惩)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 膺。
    Tā zài xuǎn jǔ zhōng yīng xuǎn wèi huì zhǎng.
    He was elected as president in the election.
  • 膺。
    Tā yīng mìng qián wǎng zāi qū.
    He received orders to go to the disaster area.
  • 膺。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng yīng chéng nà xiē fàn zuì fèn zǐ.
    The government decided to punish those criminals.

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
肉肉ròubody
Sound part声符shēngfú
𤸰
𤸰𤸰膺yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

膺 pairs 肉 (body) with 𤸰, which gives the sound.

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