瑞 (ruì): auspicious

Meanings

1 auspicious
2 lucky
3 propitious

Characters

瑞

ruì

auspicious; lucky

Examples

瑞雪兆丰年。

Ruìxuě zhào fēng nián.

A timely snow promises a good harvest.

这是一个瑞兆。

Zhè shì yígè ruì zhào.

This is an auspicious sign.

他的名字里有一个瑞字。

Tā de míngzi lǐ yǒu yígè ruì zì.

His name contains the character 'rui'.

Tips

usage

瑞 is very common in Chinese names because of its auspicious meaning. It also appears in 瑞士 (Ruìshì, Switzerland) and 瑞典 (Ruìdiǎn, Sweden) as a phonetic transliteration.

memory

The 王 (jade) radical on the left suggests precious stones — jade was considered the most auspicious material in ancient China.

Components

radical

王 wáng

jade; king (radical)

Left radical 王 — when on the left, this is actually 玉 (jade) with the dot omitted, not the 'king' character. Marks 瑞 as something carved from precious stone: 瑞 originally referred to a jade tablet of authority issued by the emperor. Same jade-radical drives 玲 (tinkling jade), 珠 (pearl), 玛 (agate), 珍 (treasure).

phonetic

耑 duān

sprout; tip (phonetic)

Right phonetic 耑 supplies the sound (duān → ruì, a noticeable drift in older readings). 耑 originally pictured a sprouting plant with roots, the tip or origin of growth. Same phonetic also drives 端 (end, proper) and 喘 (pant). The auspicious 'sign' meaning of 瑞 fits a jade tablet given as the proper, original token of trust.