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The Chinese character 苍 (traditional form 蒼) is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 sits on top for meaning, and the simplified phonetic 仓 (from 倉) below indicates the sound. It originally denoted the dark green hue of vegetation, later shifting to the deep blue of the sky (as in 苍天 'firmament'), and then broadened to describe a hoary, gray-haired appearance in old age. Simplification only reduced the strokes of the phonetic component from 倉 to 仓, leaving the grass radical 艹 to maintain the link to the natural world.
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Example Sentences Hide
桌子上有一只苍蝇。
他的脸色很苍白。
爷爷的声音有点苍老。
苍天之上有白云。
山上的树木十分苍翠。
秋天的田野显得苍凉。
苍茫的大海一望无际。
在苍茫的暮色中，他独自前行。
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