闽 (mǐn): (abbreviation for) Fujian Provi…

Meanings

闽菜是中国八大菜系之一。

Mǐncài shì Zhōngguó bādà càixì zhīyī.

Min cuisine is one of China's eight great culinary traditions.

他在闽南长大，会说闽南话。

Tā zài Mǐnnán zhǎngdà, huì shuō mǐnnánhuà.

He grew up in southern Fujian and speaks Hokkien.

usage

闽 is the one-character abbreviation for Fujian Province, used on license plates and in compounds like 闽南 (southern Fujian) and 闽菜 (Fujian cuisine).

phonetic

门 mén

door; gate

The gate 门 wraps the top and sides and supplies the sound, shifted from mén to mǐn. The wrapping shape is split across the stroke order.

semantic

虫 chóng

insect; worm; serpent

Inside the gate sits 虫. It originally referred to a snake-revering southeastern tribe, which is how this character came to name the Fujian region.

闽 mǐn