xuān
verb #16,750

Meanings

  1. 1 to declare; to announce
  2. 2 to publicize; to spread

Examples

Zhèngfǔ xuānbù le xīn zhèngcè.
The government announced a new policy.
Wǒmen yào jiādà xuānchuán lìdù.
We need to increase publicity efforts.

Tips

usage
is mainly used in compounds: 宣布 (to announce), 宣传 (to publicize/propaganda), 宣言 (declaration), 宣誓 (to take an oath).

Components

radical
mián
roof; building
Top roof radical (Kangxi #40) — a hipped roof seen from the front, signaling that whatever follows happens inside a building. originally named the proclamation hall in the imperial palace, so the roof here is specifically the throne room. Same family: home, room, peace-under-roof, guard.
phonetic
gèn
extend through; span
Bottom is — a sun rolling between two horizons, supplying the sound gèn → xuān through historical drift. Same phonetic shows up in noisy, day-lily, warm-sunny. Faint semantic flavor too: a royal proclamation was meant to spread from horizon to horizon, exactly the 'span across' image depicts.

Stroke Order

xuān