About
The character 郯 (tán) is a phono-semantic compound. Its right-side radical 阝 (yì) indicates a city or state, marking it as a geographic toponym. The left component 炎 (yán), meaning "flame", serves purely as the phonetic element. The character refers specifically to the ancient State of Tan, a minor Zhou Dynasty vassal, and is now primarily used in the place name Tancheng County in Shandong.
Etymology Hide
