艮

gěn, gèn

Definitions

gěn blunt; tough; chewy

gèn one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[bā guà], symbolizing mountain; ☶; ancient Chinese compass point: 45° (northeast)

Etymology

Depicts a person looking backwards. Based on the original meaning "look backwards". The modern meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

艮 originated as a depiction of a person turning to look backwards, with an eye emphasized above the body, and its early meaning was "look back". Later, it was phonetically borrowed to represent the trigram 艮, one of the Eight Trigrams, symbolizing a mountain and qualities like stillness or stopping. In some regional dialects, it also describes tough, chewy food or a blunt, straightforward person.