In Mandarin Chinese, 尘 (Pinyin: chén 🔊) is a noun that means “dust”, “dirt”, “ashes”, “cinders” and so on. Figuratively, it also means “dirty thing”, “war”, “warfare” — well, war is a dirty thing. In Buddhism, 尘 refers to the mundane world, mortal life, etc.
尘 is said to be a simplified form of the traditional character 塵. Lawrence J. Howell in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters explains the origin of 塵 as
鹿 (long herd of) deer + 土 earth → dust kicked up by an advancing herd of deer → dirt → trash; waste.
Therefore, the 鹿 part somehow got simplified to 小, which, you may recall, on its own means “small”.
On the other hand, Wiktionary says:
According to the Kangxi dictionary, 尘 is an ancient form of 塵.
In any case, 小 “small” + 土 “earth” → 尘 “dust” makes perfect sense to me, and 尘 is easier to remember, read and write than 塵.
Some compounds of 尘 include
- 灰 + 尘 = 灰尘 (huīchén 🔊): dust
- 风 + 尘 = 风尘 (fēngchén): (literally) windblown dust; (figuratively) hardships of travel; vicissitudes of life; prostitution
- 红 + 尘 = 红尘 (hóngchén): (literally) dust; (figuratively) bustling places, human society; worldly affairs etc.
- 玉 + 尘 = 玉尘 (yùchén): (literary) snow; petal
- 沙 + 尘 = 沙尘 (shāchén): dust and sand; yellow dust (in the air)
- 沙尘 + 暴 = 沙尘暴 (shāchénbào): dust storm, sandstorm; calima
More photos of dust, earth, ashes, snow, petals and sea glass @ Shutterstock.
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