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頞 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 頁 'head, facial features' on the right provides the anatomical category, while the phonetic 安 on the left supplies the pronunciation. The character denotes the bridge of the nose, the root between the eyes. Although 安 ordinarily means 'peace' or 'safety,' it serves here only as a sound indicator; its ancient reading ān has shifted to è. This left-phonetic, right-semantic configuration is less common than the reverse arrangement.
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