蔓

mán, màn

曼 + 艹

Definitions

màn (noun) creeping plant; vine

màn (verb) to spread; to extend

Etymology

A long 曼 plant 艹 ; 曼 also provides the pronunciation

About

蔓 is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 sits on top, marking the character as plant-related, while 曼 below gives the sound and contributes the meaning 'long' or 'extended.' Its original sense is the long, trailing stems of vines such as melons, grapes, or ivy. From this image of stems continuously stretching outward and covering nearby surfaces, the character developed an abstract sense of spreading or expanding, and it is used in compounds for the rampant spread of disease, the rapid circulation of rumors, or the far-reaching creep of plant tendrils.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

藤蔓爬上了墙。

Téngwàn pá shàngle qiáng.

The vine climbed up the wall.

蔓延的植物很美丽。

Mànyán de zhíwù hěn měilì.

The spreading plants are very beautiful.

防止火灾蔓延很重要。

Fángzhǐ huǒzāi mànyán hěn zhòngyào.

Preventing the spread of fire is important.

瓜蔓上结了几个小瓜。

Guāmàn shàng jiéle jǐ gè xiǎo guā.

There are several small melons on the melon vine.

这种杂草的蔓生能力很强。

Zhè zhǒng zá cǎo de mànshēng nénglì hěn qiáng.

This kind of weed has a strong creeping ability.

蔓延的趋势需要及时控制。

Mànyán de qūshì xūyào jíshí kòngzhì.

The trend of spreading needs to be controlled in time.

藤蔓植物在热带雨林中很常见。

Téngwàn zhíwù zài rèdài yǔlín zhōng hěn chángjiàn.

Vine plants are very common in tropical rainforests.

为了阻止疫情蔓延，政府采取了严格措施。

Wèile zǔzhǐ yìqíng mànyán, zhèngfǔ cǎiqǔle yángé cuòshī.

In order to prevent the epidemic from spreading, the government took strict measures.

Related Characters

Component: 曼

Component: 艹

蔓