ān
adjective HSK 4 #1,566

Meanings

  1. 1 calm; peaceful; safe
  2. 2 to install; to set up

Characters

A woman () under a roof () — a woman safe at home represents peace and security.

Examples

晚安
Wǎn'ān!
Good night!
Qǐng ānjìng yīxià.
Please be quiet for a moment.
Zhèlǐ hěn ānquán.
It's very safe here.

Tips

usage
A woman () under a roof () = peace/safety. Key compounds: 安全 (safe), 安静 (quiet), 安排 (to arrange), 安装 (to install), 平安 (safe and sound).

Components

radical
mián
roof; house cover
Roof radical on top — the indexing semantic. pictures the eaves and ridgepole of a house. With a woman safely inside, the character delivers the canonical 'peace-at-home' image. The radical files alongside (home), (room), (cold-shelter), (guard) — all building-and-shelter words.
semantic
woman
Woman under the roof — the second semantic. The traditional reading is that a woman seated quietly inside the house is the very picture of stillness, peace, and security. From this concrete scene came 'safe, calm, peaceful', the verb 'to settle/install', and compounds like 安全 (safety), 安心 (set the heart at ease).

Stroke Order

ān