This poem is a celebrated work in praise of plum blossoms.
Tips
usage
咏 is literary. Common compounds: 吟咏 (yínyǒng, to recite/chant), 歌咏 (gēyǒng, to sing), 咏叹调 (yǒngtàndiào, aria). 咏 + subject means 'a poem/song in praise of': 咏梅 = ode to plum blossoms.
Left mouth radical — pictograph of an open mouth, the indexing element. Marks 咏 as a vocal verb: chanting, intoning, reciting poetry aloud. Same family as 唱 sing, 吟 chant, 念 recite, 喊 shout — anything produced by the lips.
Right 永 supplies the sound directly: yǒng → yǒng. Fitting echo of meaning too — 永 means 'eternal, long,' and 咏 is to chant in long drawn-out tones, holding each syllable as one prolongs a note. Same phonetic in 泳, 詠, 脉.
