Definitions

wǎn (noun) evening; night
wǎn (adjective) late

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

The character "晚" is structurally composed of the sun radical "日" on the left and the phonetic component "免" on the right, a composition that consistently indicates its core meaning related to time of day. Etymologically, this combination creates the sense of the sun being excused or released, hence conveying the concept of evening or nightfall. From this primary meaning of "evening", its semantic field expanded to encompass the more general sense of "late" in terms of time, such as a late hour or a delayed occurrence. This temporal notion of lateness was further extended into social and familial contexts to mean "younger" in relation to seniority, as seen in terms like "晚辈" referring to a younger generation.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

上天黑了。

Wǎnshang tiān hēi le.

It gets dark in the evening.

妈妈点回来。

Māma wǎndiǎn huílái.

Mom will come back late.

年很幸福。

Tā wǎnnián hěn xìngfú.

He is very happy in his old age.

电影上放映。

Diànyǐng wǎnshang fàngyìng.

The movie is shown in the evening.

会节目精彩。

Wǎnhuì jiémù jīngcǎi.

The evening party program is wonderful.

饭后我们散步。

Wǎnfàn hòu wǒmen sànbù.

After dinner, we take a walk.

霞染红了天空。

Wǎnxiá rǎnhóng le tiānkōng.

The sunset glow dyed the sky red.

年的生活要规划。

Wǎnnián de shēnghuó yào guīhuà.

Life in old age should be planned.