quán
verb #35,563

Meanings

  1. 1 to explain
  2. 2 to annotate
  3. 3 to interpret in detail

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhè běn shū quánshì le gǔdiǎn zhéxué.
This book interprets classical philosophy.
HSK 7-9
Tā yòng yìshēng quánshì le shénme shì zérèn.
He spent his whole life embodying what responsibility means.

Tips

usage
rarely stands alone in modern Chinese - it almost always appears as part of 诠释 (quánshì, "to interpret / to embody") or 诠注 ("to annotate"). 诠释 is especially fashionable in arts criticism: "actor X 完美诠释 the role of Y" = "actor X perfectly embodied the role of Y."

Components

radical
yán
speech (radical form of 言)
Left speech radical - the side form of compressed to a two-stroke vertical. Anchors in the discourse family alongside , , , . The radical tells you the character names an act of explaining, glossing, or annotating in words.
phonetic
quán
complete; whole
Right supplies the sound quán exactly, no tone shift. It also lends a semantic flavour: means 'complete, exhaustive,' and names exactly the kind of explanation that aims to be exhaustive - a full annotation rather than a passing remark.

Stroke Order

quán