Definitions

zhuān surname Zhuan
zhuān good; simple

Etymology phono-semantic

head

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The simplified character is the counterpart of traditional . It combines the phonetic component (derived from ) with the semantic radical (from , meaning "head"). In early Chinese, it described a person's appearance, especially the head, or their demeanor, conveying notions of honesty, goodness, or a simple, unadorned nature, and could also indicate a specific head shape. However, the character's most prominent use is in the name of Zhuanxu (颛顼), one of the legendary Five Emperors of ancient mythology. As a result, it now serves almost exclusively as a proper noun, and its original descriptive meanings have been largely forgotten.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern