About
The character 翰 is a phono-semantic compound originally denoting the long, stiff tail feathers of pheasants or similar birds. It combines the semantic radical 羽 (yǔ, feathers), which signals its avian association, with the phonetic component 倝 (gàn), indicating its pronunciation. These durable feathers were historically used to craft writing implements, leading the term to expand metonymically. First, it came to mean the writing brush itself, and later generalized to encompass writing, documents, correspondence, and literature as a whole. This literary association is reflected in terms like the Hanlin Academy (翰林), which denoted elite scholars and the pinnacle of classical literary culture.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
翰是我的好朋友。
他擅长翰墨。
翰林大学很著名。
这篇文翰写得很好。
他收藏了很多翰苑书画。
翰林的学术氛围很浓厚。
这位学者精通翰墨之道。
在古代，翰林院是最高学府之一。