璜

huáng

王 + 黄

Definitions

huáng semicircular jade ornament

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 王 represents the meaning and 黄 represents the sound.

Semantic: 王 Phonetic: 黄

About

The character 璜 (huáng) is a phonosemantic compound: the jade radical 王 (representing the original character 玉, meaning jade or precious stone) serves as the semantic indicator, while 黄 (huáng, 'yellow') provides the pronunciation. It denotes a semi-circular jade pendant used in ceremonial contexts or as personal ornament, emphasizing the shape over generic jade. The basic structure and the specialized meaning of this ritual jade have remained remarkably consistent in classical texts and historical artifacts.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

王璜是我的同学。

Wáng Huáng shì wǒ de tóngxué.

Wang Huang is my classmate.

李璜住在北京。

Lǐ Huáng zhù zài Běijīng.

Li Huang lives in Beijing.

这个玉璜很漂亮。

Zhège yù huáng hěn piàoliang.

This jade huang is very beautiful.

璜是一种古代玉器。

Huáng shì yī zhǒng gǔdài yùqì.

Huang is a type of ancient jade artifact.

我在博物馆看到一块玉璜。

Wǒ zài bówùguǎn kàndào yī kuài yù huáng.

I saw a jade huang in the museum.

王璜和李璜是好朋友。

Wáng Huáng hé Lǐ Huáng shì hǎo péngyǒu.

Wang Huang and Li Huang are good friends.

这块玉璜的历史很悠久。

Zhè kuài yù huáng de lìshǐ hěn yōujiǔ.

This jade huang has a long history.

如果你去南京，可以参观璜溪。

Rúguǒ nǐ qù Nánjīng, kěyǐ cānguān Huáng xī.

If you go to Nanjing, you can visit Huangxi.

Related Characters

Component: 王

Component: 黄

璜