芒 máng blade
blade; ray
How it came to be
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
Originally: awn
Grass gives the meaning and the sign for perish the sound.
用法
- Two useful senses. A radiating ray/beam: 光芒 (guāngmáng) rays of light, 锋芒 (fēngmáng) a cutting edge / one's talent on display (锋芒毕露 to show all one's brilliance).
- And the fruit: 芒果 (mángguǒ) mango. Idiom 芒刺在背 (mángcì-zàibèi) to feel a thorn in one's back: uneasy, on edge.