鼐 (nài): large ritual tripod cauldron (t…

Meanings

1 large ritual tripod cauldron (the great ding)

Characters

鼐

nài

great ritual tripod

Examples

周代礼器中，大鼐气象最为宏伟。

Zhōudài lǐqì zhōng, dà nài qì xiàng zuì wéi hóngwěi.

Among the ritual vessels of the Zhou dynasty, the large nài tripod was the most imposing in scale.

姚鼐是清代桐城派文学的重要人物。

Yáo Nài shì Qīngdài Tóngchéngpài wénxué de zhòngyào rénwù.

Yao Nai was an important figure in the Qing-dynasty Tongcheng school of literature.

Tips

register

nài is archaic. It names the largest grade of ritual bronze cauldron (鼎) — a graded sequence in classical ritual texts runs 鼎 (regular tripod) → 鼒 (small tripod with covered ears) → 鼐 (great tripod). Outside texts on ancient bronzes and ritual studies, the character survives mainly as a personal name. The Qing scholar 姚鼐 (1731-1815) was the leading figure of the Tongcheng school of classical-prose writing — his name preserves the character in living memory.

Components

radical

鼎 dǐng

tripod cauldron

Bottom tripod radical (Kangxi #206) — a pictograph of a three-legged ritual bronze cauldron. Carries the entire semantic load: 鼐 is a kind of 鼎, specifically the largest grade. The radical family is small but historically weighty: tripods were the symbol of dynastic legitimacy, and 问鼎 (literally 'ask after the tripods') means 'to make a bid for power'.

phonetic

乃 nǎi

namely; supplying the sound

Top phonetic 乃 — supplies the sound (nǎi → nài, regular tone shift). The same phonetic anchors 奶 (milk / grandmother).