About
The character "瓮" originally depicted a large earthenware jar used for storage, its core meaning consistently tied to this specific type of ceramic vessel. Its traditional form, "甕", structurally combines the semantic component "瓦", indicating pottery or tile, with "雍" serving primarily as a phonetic element to suggest pronunciation, while the simplified form "瓮" replaces this with the component "公", which also functions phonetically. Over time, the character's application narrowed from a broader category of storage jars to more specifically denote a vessel with a large opening and a rounded body, often used for fermenting or storing liquids like wine or pickles, and its use expanded metaphorically in classical texts to describe things shaped like or contained within such a jar, such as a city under siege or the sky itself.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
院子里有一个瓮。
这个瓮是陶制的。
他用瓮储存粮食。
酒瓮里装着美酒。
古代的瓮常用于盛水。
瓮城是古代城墙的一部分。
考古学家发现了一个完整的汉代瓮。
为了防止火灾，每个院子里都备有大水瓮。