胭 yān – rouge

Main meanings:

①rouge.

②make up.

HSK -

STROKES - 10

RADICAL - 月

Etymology:

Elements ---- Body 月+ bed 因. Phonetic series 因.

Orig. a word in the Xiongnu language, where this pigment was in use. Now remembered as: Make up the body 月 before laying in the bed 因 (with the lover?).

Main Words:

胭脂 yānzhī – rouge.

胭粉 yānfěn – rouge and powder (rouge + powder)

Discussion and sources

Chen Menghui. (Gudai Hanyu zidian. 古代汉语字典. 2011) says that it is a word loan from Xiongnu language.

Some of my books about Chinese characters

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