phonetic map : 扇 shan

goulnik
December 12, 2008, 08:24 AM posted in General Discussion

@ 扇

shan
* shān to fan; slap; flap; flutter; incite; stir up
扇风 shānfēng to fan
扇动 shāndòng to fan; flap; instigate
扇荡 shāndàng to stir up unrest/disorder
shàn fan; leaf
电扇 diànshàn electric fan
吊扇 diàoshàn ceiling fan
门扇 ménshàn door leaf
shān to fan a fire; jabber; instigate
煽客 shānkè instigator
煽情 shānqíng to rouse emotion; flirt
煽扇 shānshàn to fan a fire
煽动 shāndòng to incite; stir up
* shān (variant of 扇 shān)
shàn to castrate; spay
骟马 shànmǎ castrated horse; gelding
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changye
December 12, 2008, 12:59 PM

The etymology of 扇 is very visual. The character consists of 户 (door) and 羽 (feather, wing) and originally meant "swing door made of bamboo or reed".

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kimiik
December 12, 2008, 01:36 PM

Changye, Do you see a link between the traditional translucent japanese doors called Shoji (障子 zhàngzi) and the chinese character 扇 ?

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changye
December 13, 2008, 03:11 AM

Hi kimiik,

There is no link between Japanese 障子 and the character 扇. The former word was imported from China, and it originally meant "fence" in China. The character 障 connotes "interrupt" in this case. As for 扇, there is a word "扇子" both in Chinese and Japanese, and this means "a folding fan".