芮

ruì

内 + 艹

Definitions

ruì surname Rui

ruì small

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 内 represents the sound.

Semantic: 艹 Phonetic: 内

About

芮 originally described the soft, delicate, and yielding quality of newly sprouted plants, conveying smallness and tenderness. It is a phonosemantic compound: the top radical 艹 (grass) gives the botanical meaning, and the bottom component 内 supplies the pronunciation ruì. The character also once named an ancient state during the Zhou dynasty and later became a surname, shifting from an agricultural descriptor to a proper noun in modern usage.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

芮小姐今天来了。

Rui xiaojie jintian lai le.

Miss Rui came today.

我的朋友姓芮。

Wo de pengyou xing Rui.

My friend's surname is Rui.

芮城是个美丽的城市。

Ruicheng shi ge meili de chengshi.

Ruicheng is a beautiful city.

芮先生正在看书。

Rui xiansheng zhengzai kanshu.

Mr. Rui is reading a book.

我去过芮城好几次。

Wo qu guo Ruicheng hao ji ci.

I have been to Ruicheng several times.

芮工程师的设计很出色。

Rui gongchengshi de sheji hen chuse.

Engineer Rui's design is excellent.

芮河流域的生态保护很重要。

Ruihe liuyu de shengtaibaohu hen zhongyao.

The ecological protection of the Rui River basin is very important.

尽管芮博士很忙，他还是参加了会议。

Jinguan Rui boshi hen mang, ta haishi canjia le huiyi.

Although Dr. Rui is very busy, he still attended the meeting.

Related Characters

Component: 内

Component: 艹

芮