阮 (ruǎn): ruan (a round-bodied, fretted C…

Measure Word

一把阮 bǎ

Meanings

1 ruan (a round-bodied, fretted Chinese lute)
2 (surname) Ruan

Characters

阮

ruǎn

ruan (lute); surname

Examples

阮是一种四弦的中国弹拨乐器。

Ruǎn shì yì zhǒng sì xián de Zhōngguó tán bō yuèqì.

The ruan is a four-stringed plucked Chinese instrument.

现代民乐团里有大阮、中阮和小阮。

Xiàndài mín yuètuán lǐ yǒu dàruǎn, zhōng ruǎn hé xiǎoruǎn.

A modern Chinese orchestra includes large, middle and small ruan.

Tips

history

Full name 阮咸 (ruǎnxián), abbreviated to 阮. Named after the Jin-dynasty poet Ruan Xian (阮咸), one of the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' 竹林七贤, who was famous for playing this lute. The instrument had existed earlier as 秦琵琶, but Ruan Xian's fame attached his name to it permanently.

Components

radical

阝 fù

mound (radical, left-side variant of 阜)

Left-side ear-radical — this position represents 阜 'mound, terraced hill,' not the right-side 邑 'city.' Indexes 阮 in the mound/place-name family with 阳 sunny side, 阴 shady side, 阶 step, 院 courtyard. 阮 originally named an ancient state and a mountain, so the mound radical anchors the geographic sense.

phonetic

元 yuán

first; origin

Right side 元 supplies the sound — yuán shifted to ruǎn through Old-Chinese rhyme alternation. Same phonetic family in 完 complete, 玩 to play, 院 courtyard. 元 contributes no semantic flavour here; 阮 is best known today as a Chinese surname and as the name of a four-stringed lute, the 阮咸.