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旖 is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 㫃 depicts a flag or banner fluttering in the wind, and the component 奇 indicates the pronunciation. It originally referred to the gentle, graceful fluttering of flags and ceremonial banners in a breeze. This concrete image of soft, rippling motion gave rise to a more abstract sense of delicate beauty. Nowadays, the character is used almost exclusively in the word 旖旎 (yǐ nǐ), which paints a picture of enchantingly gentle and beautiful scenery or a romantic, tender atmosphere. The character thus ties the physical movement of a banner to a broader feeling of charming grace.
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