Meaning: dark, dim, confused Origin: 甲骨文“昏”字像太阳落到了人的手臂的高度,表示“到了天暮的时候”,这就是字的本义。引申为“昏暗”、“糊涂”等义。 On oracle bones inscriptions, the character “昏” looked like the sun falling into a man’s arms. It meant “the time of sunset,” which then extended to “dim,” “confused,” Read More

Meaning: exchange; convert; add (water, etc.) Origin: “兑”是“悦”的本字,字形的下半是一个人,上半突出了他的嘴和嘴角的笑纹。现在另有“悦”字表示喜悦,“兑”的意思为换取。 “兑” is the original version of the character “悦.” The lower part is a person and the upper part is an exaggeration of a laughing mouth. Read More

Meaning: state-owned; collective; common; general; public affairs Origin: 这个字的上部“八”是分的意思,下部的“口”表示所分的物品,用平分东西表示“公平”。 The upper of this character is “八”,which means to separate, and the lower part is “口”, which represents the goods being divided. Likewise, the word Read More

Meaning: bent; twisted; song; tune; music Origin: 甲骨文的“曲”像曲尺形,本义是“弯曲”,和“直”相对(音qū)。又有“乐曲”的意思(音qǔ)。 On ancient oracle bone inscriptions, the character “曲” resembles a curved ruler, so its original meaning was “bent,” the opposite of straight, and it was pronounced Read More

Meaning: white; clear; pure; free of charge; Origin: 这个字原来是烛火的形状,中心是烛芯或灯芯,有了烛光就可以照亮,因此它最初的意思是“明亮”“清楚”,后来常用来指“白色”。 The original shape of this character is a candle with a wick in center. Its original meaning was bright and clear, and now is often Read More