Chinese Character Wiki
臣

chén

minister

Original meaning: 

glare at

Pictograph of an eye, similar to 目. Based on the original meaning "glare at", now written as 瞋. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Evolution

臣 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
臣 Bronze script Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
臣 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
臣 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
臣 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

臣  

chén

minister, statesman, official; state official or subject in dynastic China; I, your servant (used in addressing the sovereign); Kangxi radical 131

臣  

Chén

surname Chen

Most common words with 臣
Freq.
Word
Meaning

臣

Kangxi radical 131

大臣

cabinet minister

车臣

Chechen

臣服

to serve

功臣

minister who has given outstanding service

Component uses

Meaning component in 3 characters (0 verified)

宦 赜 姫

Iconic component in 9 characters (9 verified)

监 監 临 臨 卧 臥 臧 臤 𰀡

Simplified component in 3 characters (3 verified)

监 临 𰀡

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*[g]i[ŋ]

dzyin

chén

slave, subject


Statistics

Not found in HSK word list

Appears in 3.5560% of movies

2406th most common character in movies

1138th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

6

Unicode

U+81E3

Shuowen

“臣，牽也，事君也。象屈服之形。”


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