Definitions

xuān clever, nimble

Etymology phono-semantic

person

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character combines the person radical on the left, signaling a human quality, with the phonetic on the right. As an adjective, it can describe someone extremely quick-witted and agile, both mentally and physically, but in classical Chinese it often takes on a pejorative nuance, denoting a superficial, flippant, or frivolous person, a cleverness without moral depth or seriousness.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern