懂中文 Dong Chinese

砚

yàn

inkstone

Phonosemantic compound. 石 represents the meaning and 见 represents the sound. Simplified form of 硯.

Components
石 meaning component

石  Meaning component

shí, dàn

  

stone

见 sound component

见  Sound component

jiàn, xiàn

  

see

Evolution

砚 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
砚 Traditional script Modern

Traditional script

Modern
砚 Simplified script Modern

Simplified script

Modern
Definitions

砚 (硯) 

yàn

inkstone; ink-stone

Most common words with 砚
Freq.
Word
Meaning

砚台

ink stone

砚

ink-stone

端砚

high-quality ink stonemade in Duanxi and Guangdong

程砚秋

Cheng Yanqiu (1904-1958), famous Beijing opera star, second only to 梅蘭芳|梅兰芳[Méi​Lán​fāng]

砚石

ink stone