Definitions

lǐn government granary

Etymology phono-semantic

building

Semantic: 广 Phonetic:

About

廪 (simplified) and its traditional form 廩 function as architectural nouns, with the "shelter" radical 广 (yǎn) indicating a physical structure. The interior component 禀 (bǐng) historically contained elements representing grain and receptacles, serving as both a phonetic marker and reinforcing the core meaning. The primary definition is a granary, specifically, official state or estate storehouses for collecting, storing, and distributing harvested grain. In classical texts, the character often appears in contexts of taxation, agricultural administration, and bureaucratic salaries, as officials were commonly paid in grain rations measured from these government facilities.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Warring States (475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern