About
矾 is a phono-semantic compound that refers to sulfate minerals, especially alum. The semantic component 石 (stone) indicates that it belongs to the category of minerals, while the phonetic 凡 (fán) provides the pronunciation. It is the simplified form of 礬, where the phonetic element 樊 sits atop 石; simplification places 凡 to the left of 石 in a left-right structure. This character is primarily used in chemistry and traditional medicine for compounds like aluminum potassium sulfate, and it combines with other characters to name various mineral salts employed in dyeing and water purification.
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