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论

論
Lún / lùn
noun #5,083

Meanings

  1. 1 (in 论语 Lúnyǔ) The Analects of Confucius

Examples

他从小就开始读《论语》。
Tā cóngxiǎo jiù kāishǐ dú 《 Lúnyǔ 》.
He began reading the Analects as a child.
《论语》是儒家最重要的经典之一。
《 Lúnyǔ 》 shì rújiā zuì zhòngyào de jīngdiǎn zhīyī.
The Analects is one of the most important Confucian classics.

Tips

history
Lún is preserved in exactly one classical title: 论语 (Lúnyǔ), 'The Analects' — the collected sayings of Confucius compiled by his disciples around the Warring States period. The two-tone shift (lùn → Lún) marks the title's archaic register; modern readers know to switch tones when they see this title.
mistakes
Don't read 论语 as Lùnyǔ — that is the most common slip among learners. The bookname keeps the older second-tone reading Lún. Everywhere else (理论, 讨论, 评论, 无论...) you read lùn.

Components

radical
讠 yán
speech (radical form of 言)
Speech radical — the indexing component. The Analects is, literally, the 'arranged sayings' of Confucius, so the speech radical fits the bookname even more transparently than the everyday verb sense.
phonetic
仑 lún
orderly arrangement (phonetic)
Phonetic 仑 supplies lún directly — no tone shift for this reading, unlike the everyday lùn. The 'orderly arrangement' image inside 仑 fits the editorial work of the Analects: the sayings were collected, sorted, and arranged by disciples after Confucius's death.

Stroke Order

论 Lún