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姹 is a phono-semantic compound: the female radical 女 (nǚ) on the left provides the semantic category, and the phonetic 宅 (zhái) on the right gives the sound. The traditional form 奼 uses the phonetic 乇 (zhé) on the right instead. Throughout its history, the character has consistently conveyed the meaning of a beautiful young woman, or a general sense of feminine beauty and gracefulness. It appears in classical literary expressions and modern poetic compounds, most famously in the idiom 姹紫嫣红 (chàzǐyānhóng). This idiom, literally 'beautiful purples and stunning reds,' is a metaphor for brilliantly colored flowers blooming vibrantly in a spring garden or landscape.
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