汪

wāng
noun #12,351

Meanings

  1. 1 Wang (surname)
  2. 2 expanse of water
  3. 3 woof; bark

Examples

HSK 1
Wāng xiānsheng shì wǒmen de xīn lǎoshī.
Mr. Wang is our new teacher.
HSK 4
Xiǎogǒu wāngwāng de jiào gè bùtíng.
The puppy barked nonstop.

Tips

usage
汪 as a surname is different from the more common 王 (2nd tone). 汪 is 1st tone. As onomatopoeia, 汪汪 is the standard Chinese word for a dog's bark.

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water (radical form of 水)
Three-drops water radical, side-form of 水. The indexing radical, pure semantic fit: 汪 originally describes a broad expanse of standing water (汪洋 vast ocean), tears welling (泪汪汪), or, in modern colloquial use, the bark of a dog 汪汪. Same water-family: 海 sea, 湖 lake, 洋 ocean.
phonetic
王 wáng
king; sovereign
Right side 王 supplies the sound: wáng to wāng with tone shift. 王 itself depicts three horizontal lines (heaven, man, earth) joined by a vertical, the one uniting the three realms, the king. Same phonetic family: 旺 prosperous, 望 to gaze toward, 枉 crooked. 王 is also a top-ten Chinese surname; 汪 itself is also a surname.

Stroke Order

汪 wāng