艳 (yàn) — bright, colorful, gorgeous; romantic, amorous
Definition
艳 (yàn) is a bound morpheme meaning 'gorgeously colorful' or 'romantic/amorous' — it almost never stands alone and must combine with another character (鲜艳, 艳丽, 艳遇).
bound form
brightcolorfulgorgeousromanticamorous
Examples
- 。Tā chuān de qún zi fēi cháng xiān yàn.The skirt she is wearing is very bright-colored.
- 艳。Tā de biǎo yǎn ràng rén jīng yàn.Her performance was stunning.
- 艳。Tā zài lǚ tú zhōng yù dào le yí duàn yàn yù.He encountered a romantic adventure during his trip.
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 豔; 艳 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
豐豐fēngabundant, great
Sound part声符shēngfú
盇
盇hé豔yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 豔 pairs 豐 (abundant, great) with a sound component 盇; the simplified 艳 is a later abbreviation.
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