阎 yán village gate
village gate; surname
怎么记住“阎”: 门 door + 臽 pitfall = village gate. Grandpa swings the heavy wooden door shut at dusk and warns the kids about the muddy pitfall right outside the village gate.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
阎 = 门 door + 臽 pitfall
- 门 door meaning
- 臽 pitfall sound
Grandpa swings the heavy wooden door shut at dusk and warns the kids about the muddy pitfall right outside the village gate.
How it came to be
The gate gives the meaning and the pitfall the sound.
用法
- Chiefly a surname today, and the name of the underworld king 阎王 (Yánwang) / 阎罗王: the judge of the dead in Chinese folk belief.
- 阎王 shows up in vivid sayings like 阎王好见,小鬼难缠 (Yánwang hǎo jiàn, xiǎoguǐ nánchán) 'the king of hell is easy to face, it's the petty demons who are a pain': the boss is fine, the underlings block you.
- The original 'village gate' sense is long dead.