Dong Chinese dictionary

fèn

manure

Original meaning:

to clean up

Depicts two hands (廾) using a dustpan (其) to sweep away garbage or feces. Based on the original meaning "to clean up". The meaning later shifted to "manure".

Components

米 Iconic component

mǐ

rice

Used here to depict garbage or feces.

其 Iconic component

qí

its, his, (3p possessive)

Depicts a dustpan.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 其 than it was in ancient scripts.

廾 Iconic component

gǒng

two hands

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 廾 than it was in ancient scripts.

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional script

Modern

Simplified script

Modern

Definitions

粪 (糞)

fèn

manure, dung, night soil; manure; dung

Most common words with 粪

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	粪	manure
	粪便	excrement
	大粪	human excrement
	粪土	dung
	化粪池	septic tank

Sources

MTSU Chinese text computing

季旭昇《說文新證》p.314

漢語多功能字庫

Original meaning:

Freq.

Word

Meaning