Sunday, 20 July 2025

忘 | wàng | wáng

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: wàng 🔊 or wáng 🔊) means “to forget”.

According to Wiktionary, is both phono-semantic and ideogrammic compound:

phonetic (OC *maŋ, “to lose, disappear, flee”) + semantic (“heart”).

Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per (obscure) + heart/emotions → obscure state of mind, in the form of forgetfulness or overlooking something → forget; overlook; leave behind.

As forgetting usually has negative connotations, is often found in combination with “not”: 不忘 (bù wàng), “don’t forget”:

  • + + + = 念念不忘 (niàn niàn bù wàng): to keep in mind constantly; to never forget
  • + + + = 永志不忘 (yǒng zhì bù wàng): to remember forever and never forget
  • + + + = 安不忘危 (ān bù wàng wēi): to be mindful of possible danger in time of peace

But why should it have negative connotations? One of my university professors used to call the ability to forget a golden feature of our brain. Without it, our memories, to quote Funes the Memorious, would be “like a garbage heap”. Not only that. In his Nobel Lecture, Elie Wiesel said:

it is surely human to forget, even to want to forget. The Ancients saw it as a divine gift. Indeed if memory helps us to survive, forgetting allows us to go on living.

Like other hanzi with in the lower part (, , , , ), reminds me of a sailship.

Other compounds of include

  • + = 忘我 (wàngwǒ): selfless
  • + = 忘年 (wàngnián): to disregard age
  • 忘年 + = 忘年交 (wàngniánjiāo): friend despite the difference in age
  • + + = 勿忘草 (wùwàngcǎo): forget-me-not

Haiku time! In Japanese, the verb “to forget” is 忘れる (わすれる), wasureru. Here are three haiku where you can see the stem 忘れ, wasure:

燕や
何をれて
がへり
乙由
Tsubakuro ya nani wo wasurete chūgaeri
The swallow
Turns a somersault;
What has it forgotten?
Otsuyu

長閑さや
早き
れたり
太祇
Nodokasa ya hayaki tsukihi wo wasuretari
Calm days,
The swift years
Forgotten.
Taigi


咲󠄁けどれね
昔哉
諸九尼
Wasuregusa wa sakedo wasurenu mukashi kana
The forget-me-not is blooming;
But the things of long ago, —
How can I forget them?
Shokyū-ni *

(All haiku translated by R.H. Blyth)

More photos related to thought, day-lily, forget-me-not, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.


* In Blyth’s book (Haiku vol. 3, Summer—Autumn, Hokuseido Press, 1952, p. 313), this haiku appears as
わすれ草は咲󠄁けどわすれね昔哉
For the purposes of this post, I took the liberty to replace わす with . Blyth also writes in a footnote to the word “forget-me-not” (ibid., p. 314):
The Japanese is a “forget-me” flower, the day-lily.
In other words, 忘れ草, which Blyth translated as “forget-me-not”, is a completely different flower, Hemerocallis fulva. Shokyū-ni (1714—1781) probably wasn’t even aware of the European forget-me-not, Myosotis sylvatica. According to Wiktionary, the word 忘れな草 (wasurenagusa), a calque of English forget-me-not, was first attested in 1913. So it seems that, for the benefit of English readers, Blyth radically changed the meaning of the haiku. It really should be
The “forget-me” flower is blooming;
But the things of long ago, —
How can I forget them?
This makes much more sense.

Saturday, 20 July 2024

明 | míng

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: míng 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As an adjective, it stands for “bright”, “brilliant”, “light”, “clear”, “transparent”, “apparent”, “open”, “acute”, “sharp”, “keen”, “intelligent”, “perceptive” and, less obviously, “next” or “following”. As a noun, it can mean “vision”, “sight” or “light”, as well as “tomorrow”. As a verb, it can mean “to understand”, “to know”, “to make known” or “to show”. As you can clearly see, these many senses are related and linked to the concept of light. Also, may refer to the Ming dynasty, 明朝 (1368—1644), also referred to as “Great Ming”, 大明 (Dàmíng).

Does the character look familiar to you? Of course it does: it’s a combination of our old friends “sun” and “moon”. According to Wiktionary, could be interpreted as “the sun just rising and the moon not yet set — dawn” or, alternatively, as “two bright celestial bodies — bright”. Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

Originally, moon + (ventilation hole) → bright moonlight streaming through an open window, and manifesting the hidden → brightness; light. Extended meanings from the idea of the light of dawn (signaling the end of one day and the start of the next) include spend/pass (the night); be visible; the next/following (day/week/year); begin; end; and dawn. Disclose and confide are extended senses of “open” (open up to), as are clarity; evident and obvious. Be conversant with is via the idea of illumination, here with respect to a particular subject matter.

Elsewhere, Howell consistently refers to as “manifest the hidden”.

Compounds of include

  • + = 明明 (míngmíng 🔊): obviously, plainly, clearly
  • + = 明白 (míngbai, míngbái): clear, obvious, evident; open, explicit, frank; sensible, reasonable
  • + = 明人 (míngrén): honest and upright person
  • + = 明天 (míngtiān 🔊): tomorrow; near future
  • + = 天明 (tiānmíng): to break (of dawn)
  • + = 明星 (míngxīng 🔊): celebrity, star
  • + = 明日 (míngrì): tomorrow; (literary, figurative) future
  • + = 明月 (míngyuè): bright moon; next month
  • + = 月明 (yuèmíng): moonlight

It’s haiku time!

をつみて
夜のやすき
窓かな
子規
ki o tsumite yo no akeyasuki komado kana
the tree cut,
dawn breaks early
at my little window
Shiki

(Translated by Janine Beichman)


を見送る
野原哉
一茶
mado akete chō wo mi-okuru no hara kana
opening the window
I see the butterfly off...
into the field
Issa

(Translated by David G. Lanoue)

More photos related to bright stuff, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

Thursday, 23 May 2024

息 | xī | xí

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: 🔊 or 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As a verb, it can stand for “to breathe”, “to sigh”, “to blow”; “to stop”, “to cease”, “to rest”, “to calm down”; “to grow”, “to develop”. As a noun, it can mean “breath”, “life”, “(one’s) child”, “news”, “message”, “interest” or “dividends”.

According to Wiktionary, is an ideogrammic compound of “nose” and , “heart-mind”, meaning “to breathe (life) through one’s nose”. Likewise, Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per (nose) + heart/emotions → breathe through the nostrils in rhythm with the beating of the heart → breathlivegive birth; increase. Also, stop; rest (← stops and starts of steady breathing); interest (← increase); son (← give birth).

It’s curious how the logical extension of “breath” leads to the almost opposite meanings of “growth” (to breath is to live, to live is to grow and give birth) and “rest” (cf. English “take a breather”). I find it very Yin-Yang-y: in order to keep living, you need to take a rest!

Like other hanzi containing in the lower part (e.g. , , , ), reminds me of a sailship. It’s resting but perfectly ready to go.

Compounds of include

  • + = 息男 (xīnán, xínán): (one’s) son
  • + = 息女 (xīnǚ, xínǚ): (one’s) daughter
  • + = 息怒 (xīnù, xínù): to calm down; to not be angry
  • + + + = 息息相关 (xīxīxiāngguān, xíxíxiāngguān): to be closely linked
  • + = 休息 (xiūxi 🔊, xiūxí): to rest; to take a break
  • + = 太息 (tàixī, tàixí): to sigh
  • + = 子息 (zǐxī, zǐxí): son; the next generation; (monetary) interest
  • + = 气息 (qìxí, qìxí): breath; smell, odour, flavour; style, appeal; spirit
  • + = 安息 (ānxī 🔊, ānxí): to rest; to rest in peace
  • + = 出息 (chūxi 🔊): prospects, promise, future
  • + = 月息 (yuèxī, yuèxí): monthly interest

In Japanese, , in its “breath” meaning, is pronounced iki (いき). Here’s a poem by John White (1924—2021) called The Breath in the Flute (笛の息), from the book of the same name.

The breath in the flute
is the sound of life stirring
springtime and sadness
John White
笛の
いのち動く音
と悲しみ
Fue no iki
inochi ugoku oto
haru to kanashimi

More photos related to rest, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

Thursday, 20 July 2023

喜 | xǐ

In Mandarin Chinese, is a word with a number of meanings — and three similar but different pronunciations.

  1. (Pinyin: 🔊)
      adj. happy, joyful, celebratory;
      n. pregnancy (that is, a happy event);
      v. to like, to love, to enjoy
  2. (Pinyin: 🔊)
    1. Archaic form of v. to enjoy, to play
    2. Alternative form of adj. bright, splendid, glorious
  3. (Pinyin: chì), a variant form of
      n. food
      v. to cook

According to Wiktionary, is an ideogrammic compound of “drum” and “mouth”. In its turn, is said to be a pictogram of a “drum with two ends, a base and feathers on top”. It’s not clear what “two ends” refer to. Does it mean that the drum is placed horizontally? But historical forms of contain a variety of “drums” — some look like djembe and others like timpani.

Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per as described in (round drum set on a stand) + mouth → joyful voices at a feast with musical accompaniment → joy; gladness; like; be fond of; pleasure; happinessgood; desirable; congratulations.

Food and samba: totally my kind of party.

An alternative form of this character, , contains our old friend , “heart-mind”:

Combining with another word for joy, , we get 喜乐 (xǐlè), which means, well, “joy”. Happy joy. Real joy. Not any old semblance of joy but, you know — joy joy.

Other compounds of include:

  • + = 喜爱 (xǐ'ài): to like, to be fond of, to be keen on, to love
  • + = 喜好 (xǐhào): to like, to be fond of, to be keen on
  • + = 喜气 (xǐqì): cheerful atmosphere
  • + = 喜感 (xǐgǎn): (neologism) comical, funny, humorous
  • + = 喜雨 (xǐyǔ): welcome rain (after a drought)
  • + = 大喜 (dàxǐ): (literary) very happy, overjoyed; good news; wedding

I just came across this beautiful poem attributed to Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (1683—1706); some alternative translations are here.

见,或者不见
我就在那里
不悲不
Whether you see me or not
I’m right here
Not sad not glad
,或者不念我
情就在那里
不来不去
Whether you miss me or not
The affection is right here
Not rising not falling
你爱,或者不
爱就在那里
不增不减
Whether you love me or not
The love is right here
No more no less
你跟,或者不跟我
我的就在你手里
不离不弃
Whether you accompany me or not
My hand is in yours
Not clinging not giving
来我的怀里
或者让我住进你的
默然 相爱
寂静 欢
Come into my arms
Or let me reside in your heart
Love with serenity
Rejoice in silence

More photos related to joy, happiness, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

感 | gǎn

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: gǎn 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As a verb, it can stand for “to feel”, “to perceive”; “to affect”, “to move”, “to touch”; “be affected by”, “be sensitive to”; “be grateful”, “to thank”; “to long for”, “to miss”, “to be sentimental”, “to sigh with emotion”. As a noun, it can mean “emotion”, “feeling”, “sensation”, “sense” or “thought”.

According to Wiktionary, is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic and semantic , “heart-mind”. Remembering that includes both heart and mind, it’s not difficult to see why Chinese can use the same word for both “emotion” and “thought”.

Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

(shut) + heart/emotions → emotion/feeling that shuts off sensation (= moves/affects one to the point of muteness or immobility).

However, really means “all”, “completely”, “together” or “united”. Could the whole combination be “to feel with all heart”?

is a simplified form of a traditional character . There is a subtle difference between these two. In the traditional , the “heart” is drawn inside of the component, directly below the . In the simplified , the is placed below the whole bit.

are often combined with other hanzi containing (or its radical form, ), for example:

  • + = 感想 (gǎnxiǎng 🔊): impressions, reflections, thoughts; to miss, to reminisce, to think of, to yearn for
  • + = 感念 (gǎnniàn): to recall fondly; to recall sadly
  • + = 快感 (kuàigǎn): delight, joy, pleasant feeling, pleasure, thrill

Some more compounds of :

  • + = 感激 (gǎnjī 🔊): to be grateful
  • + = 感人 (gǎnrén): heart-warming, moving, touching
  • + = 百感 (bǎigǎn): all kinds of feelings and emotions
  • + = 好感 (hǎogǎn): good feeling; goodwill; favour
  • + = 口感 (kǒugǎn): mouthfeel, taste
  • + = 手感 (shǒugǎn): feel, touch
  • + = 美感 (měigǎn): sense of beauty
  • + = 音感 (yīngǎn): sense of rhythm, pitch, sound, tone quality, etc.

Now for a bit of poetry. Chunwang (春望) is recognised as one of the “best and best-known works” by the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (杜甫, 712—770). The poem is notoriously difficult to translate. With (chūn) meaning “spring” and (wàng) “to observe”, “to watch”, “to hope”, the title of the poem has been variously rendered as “Spring View”, “Spring Scene”, “Spring Gaze”, “Spring Outlook”, “Spring Prospect”, “Spring Hope” and so on. I like the translation by Vikram Seth, although the name he gave it, Spring Scene in Time of War, conveys more information than needed.

春望
(simplified)
河在
城春
溅泪
恨别

家书抵
头搔更短
浑欲不胜簪
春望
(traditional)
國破山河在
城春草木深
時花濺淚
恨別鳥驚心
烽火連三月
家書抵萬金
白頭搔更短
渾欲不勝簪
杜甫

Spring Scene in Time of War

The state lies ruined; hills and streams survive.
Spring in the city; grass and leaves now thrive.
Moved by the times, the flowers shed their dew.
The birds seem startled; they hate parting too.
The steady beacon fires are three months old.
A word from home is worth a ton of gold.
I scratch my white hair which is grown so thin
It soon won’t let me stick my hat pin in.
Du Fu
(Translated by Vikram Seth)

More photos related to thought, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

Tuesday, 20 July 2021

念 | niàn

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: niàn 🔊) is a word with many meanings. As a verb, it can mean “to miss”, “to long for”, “to think of”, “to recall”, “to consider”, “to contemplate”, “to worry”, “to be anxious about”, “to feel compassion for”, “to show affection for”, “to commemorate”, “to pay tribute to”, as well as “to study”, “to learn”, “to read aloud” or “to chant”. As a noun, it can mean “idea”, “thought” or “memory”.

Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per (contain) + heart/emotions → thought/idea contained deep within the heart (compare ) → caution (← profound idea).

Once again, Howell mentions the meaning “contain”, this time for . However, really means “current”, “now”, “present”. On the other hand, , itself a phono-semantic compound of and , in addition to its original sense “to keep in the mouth”, can indeed mean “to contain”, “to harbor”, etc. Could it be that “mouth” in simply got replaced with “heart”, so “to keep in the mouth” → “to keep in the heart”?

Some compounds of include

  • + = 意念 (yìniàn): thought, notion, will
  • + = 思念 (sīniàn 🔊): to miss, to think of, to yearn for, to reminisce
  • + = 想念 (xiǎngniàn 🔊): to miss, to think of, to yearn for, to reminisce
  • + = 念想 (niànxiǎng): to miss, to cherish; thought, idea, impression; souvenir, keepsake, memento
  • + = 念白 (niànbái): spoken parts of a Chinese opera
  • + + + = 念念不忘 (niànniàn bù wàng): to keep in mind constantly; to never forget

is a simplified form of a traditional character , which is also used in Japanese. As you can see, there is no much difference, apart from the stroke under the “roof” 𠆢.

In Japanese, is pronounced nen (ねん) and means “thought”, “feeling”, “care” or “concern”.

入て
尺とる
菊の
一茶
nen irete sashi toru mushi ya kiku no hana
carefully measured
by the inchworm...
chrysanthemum
Issa

(Translated by David G. Lanoue)

More photos related to thought, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

Sunday, 23 May 2021

忆 | yì

In Mandarin Chinese, (Pinyin: 🔊) is a verb “to remember”, “to reminisce”, “to reflect upon” or a noun for “memory”.


is a simplified form of the traditional character . According to Wiktionary, is a phono-semantic compound of semantic , a radical form of “heart”, and phonetic (Pinyin: ) which also contains . So we can say that there are two hearts in . In the simplified form, got replaced by unrelated but similarly-sounding (). You may remember that the same story happened with 亿 (← ).


Compounds of include

  • “to return” + = 回忆 (huíyì 🔊): memory, to remember
  • “to lose” + = 失忆 (shīyì): to lose memory
  • “to record” + = 记忆 (jìyì 🔊): to remember, to recall
  • 记忆 + “strength” = 记忆力 (jìyìlì): ability to remember; memory

In Japanese, could be rendered as either おく (oku) or おもう (omou 🔊).


谷ゆけり記
散りゆけり
金子
natsu tsubame tani yukeri kioku chiri yukeri
a summer swallow
flies through the valley  —
memories scatter

More photos related to memories, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.


* Kaneko Tohta, Selected Haiku, Part 2: 1961—2012. Red Moon Press, 2012, p. 63.