翁

wēng

公 + 羽

Definitions

wēng (noun) elderly man

wēng (noun) father; father-in-law

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 羽 represents the meaning and 公 represents the sound.

Semantic: 羽 Phonetic: 公

About

翁 is a phono-semantic compound composed of 公 (gōng) above 羽 ('feathers'), where 公 provides the sound and 羽 the meaning. Originally it referred to the neck feathers of a bird. Over time, this avian meaning became obsolete, and the character was borrowed to signify an elderly man, a respected elder, or a father-in-law. Today it serves as an honorific or descriptive term for old men, entirely removed from its original ornithological reference.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

那位老翁很健康。

Nà wèi lǎo wēng hěn jiànkāng.

That old man is very healthy.

一位渔翁在河边钓鱼。

Yí wèi yú wēng zài hé biān diàoyú.

A fisherman is fishing by the river.

故事里的富翁非常慷慨。

Gùshì lǐ de fùwēng fēicháng kāngkǎi.

The rich man in the story is very generous.

我们亲切地称他张翁。

Wǒmen qīnqiè de chēng tā Zhāng wēng.

We affectionately call him Old Zhang.

这个不倒翁怎么也推不倒。

Zhège bùdǎowēng zěnme yě tuī bù dǎo.

This roly-poly toy just won't fall over no matter how you push it.

他们翁婿二人的关系十分融洽。

Tāmen wēng xù èr rén de guānxì shífēn róngqià.

The relationship between the father-in-law and son-in-law is very harmonious.

她过门后对翁姑照顾有加。

Tā guòmén hòu duì wēng gū zhàogù yǒu jiā.

After marrying into the family, she took great care of her parents-in-law.

醉翁之意不在酒，在乎山水之间也。

Zuì wēng zhī yì bù zài jiǔ, zàihū shānshuǐ zhī jiān yě.

The drinker's heart is not in the cup, but in the scenery of mountains and waters.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 公

Component: 羽

翁