堇 (jǐn) · yellow clay; the violet plant; scant (classical)

Meanings

1 yellow clay; the violet plant; scant (classical)

Characters

堇

jǐn

yellow clay; violet plant (classical)

Examples

HSK 5

你开车必须谨慎。

Nǐ kāichē bìxū jǐnshèn.

You must drive carefully.

Tips

history

堇 ('yellow clay / violet plant') is archaic and not used independently in modern Chinese. It is a productive phonetic root, giving the sound in 谨 (cautious), 仅 (only), 勤 (diligent), 瑾 (fine jade), and 槿 (hibiscus).

Components

radical

土 tǔ

earth; clay

The 'earth' base carries the original 'yellow clay' meaning of 堇 and is its indexing radical.

ideograph

廿 niàn

stylized top element

The top three strokes are a stylized residue of an older 'fire over clay' figure; in the modern form they no longer depict a separate object inside 堇.

ideograph

口 kǒu

enclosed middle

The boxed middle is a graphic remnant of the fired-clay body; it sits between the top strokes and the earth radical below.