黯

àn

音 + 黑

Definitions

àn (bound form) dark; dull (color); dim; gloomy

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 黑 represents the meaning and 音 represents the sound.

Semantic: 黑 Phonetic: 音

About

黯 is a phono-semantic compound character. Its left side, 黑 (black), is the semantic component, grounding the meaning in darkness and deep shadow. The right side, 音 (sound), serves as the phonetic indicator. Literally, the character denotes an intense, deep black color or a physically dim and lightless environment. By metaphorical extension, this darkness comes to describe a person's emotional state, deep melancholy, gloom, or a downcast disposition, making the character a frequent choice in literary language for such feelings.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他的神色黯然。

Tā de shénsè ànrán.

His expression is downcast.

灯光变得黯淡。

Dēngguāng biàn de àndàn.

The light becomes dim.

她的眼睛黯然无光。

Tā de yǎnjing ànrán wú guāng.

Her eyes are dim and without light.

听到坏消息，他神情黯然。

Tīng dào huài xiāoxi, tā shénqíng ànrán.

Hearing the bad news, his expression became downcast.

在黯淡的月光下，她独自走着。

Zài àndàn de yuèguāng xià, tā dúzì zǒu zhe.

Under the dim moonlight, she walked alone.

失败后，他的世界一片黯然。

Shībài hòu, tā de shìjiè yīpiàn ànrán.

After failure, his world became gloomy.

旧照片的颜色已经黯淡了。

Jiù zhàopiàn de yánsè yǐjīng àndàn le.

The color of the old photo has already faded.

尽管天气晴朗，他的心情却十分黯淡。

Jǐnguǎn tiānqì qínglǎng, tā de xīnqíng què shífēn àndàn.

Although the weather is sunny, his mood is very gloomy.

Related Characters

Component: 音

Component: 黑

黯