咏 yǒng — sing song or poem · English

咏

yǒng

sing song or poem

At a glance · 咏

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「咏」从口永声，小篆从口永声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「咏」本义为长声歌吟，引申歌咏、赞颂。

Structure

从口、永声，形声字，口表歌唱义类，永表音兼表长声。

At a glance

Pinyinyǒng

Radical口

Strokes8

UnicodeU+548F

Character type形声

Theme礼乐

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English sing song or poem sing song or poem, hum, chant

Français chanter / célébrer Chanter, célébrer. «去而益咏» : on chante sa vertu.

Español cantar / celebrar Cantar, celebrar. «去而益咏»: se canta su virtud.

العربية يغني / يحتفي يغني، يحتفي. «去而益咏»: يُغنى لفضيلته.

Русский воспевать / петь Петь, воспевать. «去而益咏»: поют его добродетель.

Common words

咏yǒngchant
歌咏gē yǒngsing

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