棺

guān

官 + 木

Definitions

guān (noun) coffin

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 官 represents the sound.

Semantic: 木 Phonetic: 官

About

棺 is a phono-semantic compound combining 木 'wood' on the left and 官 on the right. 木 signals the material of the object, while 官 provides the pronunciation. The character means coffin, specifically the wooden inner casket that holds a body before burial. The phonetic component 官 normally means 'official' or 'government' and carries no direct semantic weight here, though some interpretations note a subtle phonetic echo with the idea of enclosing or housing. Throughout its history, 棺 has been restricted to funerary usage, consistently denoting the inner coffin as distinct from any outer sarcophagus or vault used in burial.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个棺材很重。

Zhè ge guāncai hěn zhòng.

This coffin is heavy.

他们抬着棺材前进。

Tāmen tái zhe guāncai qiánjìn.

They are carrying the coffin forward.

棺材被安放在教堂里。

Guāncai bèi ānfàng zài jiàotáng lǐ.

The coffin was placed in the church.

工匠正在制作一口棺材。

Gōngjiàng zhèngzài zhìzuò yī kǒu guāncai.

The craftsman is making a coffin.

葬礼上，棺材覆盖着鲜花。

Zànglǐ shàng, guāncai fùgài zhe xiānhuā.

At the funeral, the coffin was covered with fresh flowers.

由于木材短缺，棺材的价格上涨了。

Yóuyú mùcái duǎnquē, guāncai de jiàgé shàngzhǎng le.

Due to a shortage of wood, the price of coffins has risen.

考古学家发现了一具古代棺材。

Kǎogǔ xuéjiā fāxiàn le yī jù gǔdài guāncai.

Archaeologists discovered an ancient coffin.

在传统的习俗中，棺材的颜色具有特定意义。

Zài chuántǒng de xísú zhōng, guāncai de yánsè jùyǒu tèdìng yìyì.

In traditional customs, the color of the coffin has specific meanings.

Related Characters

Component: 官

Component: 木

棺