Kiokun Logo
🇹🇼🇭🇰🇨🇳🇯🇵

weak

HSK 10
ruǎn
ゼン、ネン
よわ.い
Same in origin to 需. Pictograph of a person (大) standing under the rain (雨), representing the meaning "become wet", now written as 濡. The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The 雨 (rain) component was later replaced with the phonetic component 而.
Components
and+ big =
weak
Phonetic component
ér and
Originally 雨 (rain). Later replaced with phonetic component 而.
View phonetic series →
Iconic component
big
big, great, vast, large, high
Depicts a person getting wet.
Notes
Historical Evolution
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Regular
Modern
Chinese
[ruǎn]
archaic variant of 軟|软[ruǎn]
Example Sentences