About
The character "鸳", whose traditional form is "鴛", is etymologically a phono-semantic compound composed of the semantic component "鳥" (bird) and the phonetic component "夗". The simplified form "鸳" maintains this structure by replacing "鳥" with its simplified variant "鸟". The character has consistently referred to the male mandarin duck, a bird known for its ornate appearance and behavior of pairing for life, which led to its symbolic use in literature and art to represent conjugal fidelity. Over time, the character became almost exclusively used in the disyllabic compound "鸳鸯", which denotes the duck pair as a whole, and by extension, has been applied metaphorically to things that come in pairs, such as certain types of slippers or blankets.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
公园里有很多鸳鸯。
鸳鸯是一种水鸟。
他们像鸳鸯一样恩爱。
湖中的鸳鸯非常漂亮。
这对鸳鸯总是在一起。
鸳鸯的羽毛颜色很鲜艳。
我们在动物园看到了鸳鸯。
鸳鸯象征着忠贞不渝的爱情。