晏

yàn

安 + 日

Definitions

yàn surname Yan

yàn late; quiet

Etymology ideographic

A woman safe in a house 安 at sunset 日

About

The character 晏 is a phono-semantic compound formed by the sun radical 日 on top and the component 安 below; 安 means 'peace' or 'quiet' and provides the phonetic clue. Originally, the character denoted lateness, a late hour of the day or a late stage of life, and by extension came to signify clear, tranquil skies. In modern usage, it still occasionally appears in literary works to evoke a serene or late atmosphere, but it is now most widely recognized as a standard Chinese surname.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

晏先生今天来了。

Yàn xiānsheng jīntiān lái le.

Mr. Yan came today.

我们约在晏家见面。

Wǒmen yuē zài Yàn jiā jiànmiàn.

We agreed to meet at the Yan family's house.

他经常晏起，所以迟到。

Tā jīngcháng yànqǐ, suǒyǐ chídào.

He often gets up late, so he is late.

晏寝对身体不好。

Yànqǐn duì shēntǐ bù hǎo.

Sleeping late is not good for health.

由于昨晚晏睡，今天他很累。

Yóuyú zuó wǎn yàn shuì, jīntiān tā hěn lèi.

Because he slept late last night, he is very tired today.

晏息之时，万物寂静。

Yànxī zhī shí, wànwù jìjìng.

At the time of rest, all things are silent.

尽管天色已晏，他仍在工作。

Jǐnguǎn tiānsè yǐ yàn, tā réng zài gōngzuò.

Although it is already late in the day, he is still working.

晏然自若的态度赢得了大家的尊重。

Yànrán zìruò de tàidù yíngdéle dàjiā de zūnzhòng.

His calm and composed attitude won everyone's respect.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 安

Component: 日

晏