Definitions

huī pheasant; golden pheasant; variegated; to fly

Etymology

About

The character (huī) is a phono-semantic compound, formed by the semantic component ('feathers, wings') and the phonetic (jūn, 'army'), which indicates the sound. It originally designated a specific type of colorful pheasant, and later came to mean to fly rapidly or soar. As a radical, anchors the character in avian anatomy and the action of flight. is the simplified version of the traditional character , which shares the same structural elements. In classical poetry, it is used to evoke the rapid, whirring flight of game birds or the brilliant colors of their plumage.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern