宣

xuān

亘 + 宀

Definitions

xuān (verb) to declare; to announce; to proclaim

xuān (verb) to spread; to disseminate

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 亘 represents the sound.

About

The character 宣 is a phono-semantic compound: the roof radical 宀 at the top points to a physical building (an official hall or palace), while the lower component 亘 (xuān) serves as the phonetic and also suggests something spreading or extending horizontally. Its core meaning is to publicly announce, declare, or proclaim, originally from a position of authority, an emperor addressing his subjects from a royal hall, and now covers general publicity and propaganda.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我们在宣传环保。

Wǒmen zài xuānchuán huánbǎo.

We are promoting environmental protection.

公司宣布了新计划。

Gōngsī xuānbù le xīn jìhuà.

The company announced a new plan.

他宣誓成为公民。

Tā xuānshì chéngwéi gōngmín.

He swore to become a citizen.

这张宣纸质量很好。

Zhè zhāng xuānzhǐ zhìliàng hěn hǎo.

This piece of rice paper has very good quality.

政府宣传节约用水。

Zhèngfǔ xuānchuán jiéyuē yòngshuǐ.

The government promotes water conservation.

校长宣布比赛结果。

Xiàozhǎng xuānbù bǐsài jiéguǒ.

The principal announced the competition results.

他们宣称找到了证据。

Tāmen xuānchēng zhǎodào le zhèngjù.

They claimed to have found evidence.

国际组织宣布全球合作倡议。

Guójì zǔzhī xuānbù quánqiú hézuò chàngyì.

The international organization announced a global cooperation initiative.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 亘

Component: 宀

宣