淳

chún
adjective #15,218

Meanings

  1. 1 genuine
  2. 2 pure
  3. 3 honest

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhège cūnzi de mínfēng hěn chún.
The customs of this village are very genuine.
HSK 7-9
他为人淳厚老实。
Tā wéirén chúnhòu lǎoshi.
He is an honest and sincere person.

Tips

usage
淳 is literary and most commonly appears in compounds like 淳朴 (simple and honest) or 淳厚 (sincere). Rarely used alone in modern speech.

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water (radical form of 水)
Left water radical - three-stroke side-form of 水. As the indexing radical it carries a metaphor: 淳 originally meant deep, undiluted water, then 'pure, genuine, unadulterated' character. Same family: 清 clear, 浓 dense, 漓 thinned, all using water as the figure for purity.
phonetic
享 xiǎng
to enjoy; offer
Right 享 supplies the sound - xiǎng drifting to chún through an old x/ch alternation. Originally 享 pictured a tall ancestral hall where offerings were made; the same component drives 醇 pure wine, 鹑 quail, 敦 sincere, all sharing the chún/dūn family of readings.

Stroke Order

淳 chún