About
The character 荫, traditionally written as 蔭, is structured as a semantic-phonetic compound where the grass radical 艹 semantically associates it with plants and vegetation, while the component 阴 provides phonetic guidance and concurrently reinforces the meaning through its own sense of shade or shadow. Initially conveying the literal concept of shade provided by trees, the character over time extended its meaning to metaphorical shelters, such as patronage or protective influence, thereby moving from a direct natural reference to broader social and abstract applications. The modern form 荫 maintains this conceptual foundation through its components, preserving the core idea of cover while allowing its usage to evolve into domains like ancestral benefit or benevolent oversight, illustrating a gradual semantic expansion from physical to figurative protection.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
树荫下很凉爽。
我们在树荫里休息。
这片树荫挡住了阳光。
院子里有荫凉的地方。
大树为人们提供荫蔽。
他在父亲的荫庇下成长。
浓密的树荫使得夏天不那么炎热。
这家公司得益于政府的政策荫庇。