韓 - Dong Chinese dictionary

hán

Korea

Original meaning:

fence surrounding a well

Phonosemantic compound. 韋 represents the meaning and 倝 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "fence surrounding a well". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

倝 Sound Remnant component

gàn

sunrise

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

韋 Meaning component

wéi

(surround a city), tanned leather

韋 hints at the original meaning of 韓, "fence surrounding a well", which is no longer the most common meaning of 韓 in modern Mandarin.

Evolution

Bronze script

Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

韩 (韓)

hán

fence; surname; Korea

韩 (韓)

Hán

Han, one of the Seven Hero States of the Warring States 戰國七雄|战国七雄; Korea from the fall of the Joseon dynasty in 1897; Korea, esp. South Korea 大韓民國|大韩民国; surname Han

Most common words with 韓

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	韩国	South Korea (Republic of Korea)
	韩	surname Han
	韩元	Won (Korean currency)
	韩寒	Han Han (1982-), PRC blogger, singer and professional rally driver
	南韩	South Korea