轩 (xuān): pavilion (with a view)

Meanings

1 pavilion (with a view)
2 small room or studio (often used in tearoom/restaurant names)
3 (literary) high; lofty
4 (old) high-fronted curtained carriage
5 surname Xuan

Characters

轩

xuān

pavilion; high; lofty

Examples

这家茶馆叫"听雨轩"。

Zhèjiā cháguǎn jiào " Tīng yǔ xuān ".

This teahouse is called 'Listen-to-Rain Pavilion'.

我的名字里有一个轩字。

Wǒ de míngzì lǐ yǒu yīgè xuān zì.

There is a 轩 character in my name.

Tips

culture

轩 has been one of the most overused boys'-name characters in mainland China for a generation — names like 子轩, 浩轩, 宇轩 became so popular in the 2000s that Chinese netizens jokingly listed 轩 (along with 涵, 怡, 萱) as 'overpowered baby-name characters'. In old usage, 轩 was a fancy carriage or scenic pavilion.

Components

radical

车 chē

cart; vehicle

Left cart radical, simplified from 車 — a stylised overhead view of a chariot with axle and wheels. Originally 轩 named a high-fronted carriage used by officials, so the cart radical is doubly fitting. Anchors 轩 in the vehicle family with 轮 wheel, 轨 rails, 转 spin, 辆 (measure word for vehicles).

phonetic

干 gān

shield; trunk; to do

Right 干 supplies the sound (gān → xuān, an Old-Chinese palatal drift). 干 itself depicts a forked pole or shield. Same phonetic series gives 杆 pole, 肝 liver, 竿 bamboo pole, 汗 sweat. From 'high-fronted carriage' the meaning extended to 'pavilion with raised eaves' and to the adjectival senses 'lofty, dignified' as in 轩昂.