Definitions

xuán (verb) to revolve; to rotate
xuàn (adverb) immediately; right away

Etymology

An army  marching under a flag 

About

The character "旋" derives from a compositional blend where the element "疋", representing the foot, denotes movement, and "方" possibly indicates direction or serves as a phonetic marker, together encapsulating the notion of turning or circular motion. Initially conveying physical rotation, such as the spinning of wheels or the swirling of wind, its semantic range broadened to encompass the idea of returning from a movement, as in military maneuvers or journeys back to a point of origin. Subsequently, from this core of cyclical action, it acquired temporal meanings like immediacy or succession, illustrated by its use in adverbial phrases to denote events following closely in time. Through these shifts, the character maintained its fundamental association with revolution while adapting to describe both concrete and abstract instances of circular patterns or sequential outcomes.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

音乐律很优美。

Yīnyuè xuánlǜ hěn yōuměi.

The melody of the music is very beautiful.

电风扇在转。

Diàn fēngshàn zài xuánzhuǎn.

The electric fan is rotating.

风突然出现了。

Xuànfēng tūrán chūxiàn le.

A whirlwind suddenly appeared.

即离开了房间。

Tā xuánjí líkāi le fángjiān.

He immediately left the room.

水流形成了涡。

Shuǐliú xíngchéng le xuánwō.

The water flow formed a whirlpool.

飞机在空中盘

Fēijī zài kōngzhōng pánxuán.

The airplane is circling in the sky.

这个问题还有回余地。

Zhège wèntí hái yǒu huíxuán yúdì.

There is still room for maneuver on this issue.

转这个钮来调整音量。

Qǐng xuánzhuǎn zhège xuánniǔ lái tiáozhěng yīnliàng.

Please rotate this knob to adjust the volume.