Definitions

fèn to instigate; to ruin; to destroy

Etymology phono-semantic

person

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 偾, traditional form 僨, is a phono-semantic compound meaning to ruin or collapse. It combines the person radical 亻, indicating a human agent, with the phonetic component 贲 (賁, bēn/fèn). Historically, it appears in classical texts and idioms to describe the downfall of plans or careers, often due to human error. Today, its use is largely confined to formal or literary phrases depicting catastrophic failure.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern