Definitions
Etymology
A bird 鳥 with a strange head
About
The character 焉 originally depicted a bird with a strange head; over time its form transformed, and the bottom component 灬 actually stems from the bird's body, not fire. Now used almost entirely as a phonetic loan, 焉 was borrowed for its sound to represent words without written characters. In classical texts, it functions as an interrogative pronoun meaning "how", "where", or "why", and frequently as a sentence-final particle indicating a concluding tone or statement of fact, acting as a grammatical marker.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
你焉能忘记承诺?
他焉知今日之事?
此事焉能急于求成?
他焉敢独自面对困难?
焉有不努力而成功之理?
你焉可忽视他人的感受?
焉得如此完美之解决方案?
焉能因小失大,不顾全局?
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