闰

閏

rùn

王 + 门

Frequency#4185

Definitions

rùn intercalary; an extra day or month inserted into the lunar or solar calendar (such as February 29)

Etymology

Depicts a king (王) in a doorway (门), as part of a ceremony marking the beginning of the extra month sometimes inserted into the lunar calendar. Simplified form of 閏.

Semantic: 王 Phonetic: 门

About

The character "闰", with its traditional form "閏", structurally combines the component 門 meaning "door" with 王 meaning "king" situated inside, an arrangement that etymologically implies an insertion or addition, much like a figure occupying a gateway. This configuration originally informed its semantic association with intercalation, specifically referring to the insertion of extra days or months in calendrical systems, such as a leap month termed "闰月". Over centuries, the character's application has occasionally extended to denote anything supplementary or intercalated, yet its core meaning has consistently remained anchored to concepts of calendrical adjustment. The simplified form "闰" retains the internal 王 component while substituting the external 門 with its simplified counterpart 门.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Seal Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

闰年通常是每四年一次。

Rùnnián tōngcháng shì měi sì nián yī cì.

Leap year usually occurs every four years.

农历有时会有闰月。

Nónglì yǒushí huì yǒu rùnyuè.

The lunar calendar sometimes has a leap month.

闰日是在二月二十九日。

Rùnrì shì zài èryuè èrshíjiǔ rì.

Leap day is on February 29th.

设置闰年是为了调整日历。

Shèzhì rùnnián shì wèile tiáozhěng rìlì.

Setting leap years is to adjust the calendar.

2020年是一个闰年。

Èr líng èr líng nián shì yīgè rùnnián.

2020 was a leap year.

闰年比平年多一天。

Rùnnián bǐ píngnián duō yī tiān.

Leap year has one more day than a common year.

判断闰年需要遵循特定规则。

Pànduàn rùnnián xūyào zūnxún tèdìng guīzé.

Determining a leap year requires following specific rules.

如果一年有闰月，那么那一年会有十三个月。

Rúguǒ yī nián yǒu rùnyuè, nàme nà yī nián huì yǒu shísān gè yuè.

If a year has a leap month, then that year will have thirteen months.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 王

Component: 门

闰