廉 lián — upright · English

廉

lián

upright

At a glance · 廉

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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、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「廉」从广兼声，小篆从广廉声，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「廉」本义为堂屋的侧边，引申廉洁、清廉、便宜。

Structure

从广、兼(lián)声，形声字，广表屋义类，本为堂廉，引申清亷。

At a glance

Pinyinlián

Radical广

Strokes13

UnicodeU+5EC9

Character type形声

Theme德行

Six languages, one character

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

English upright upright, honorable, honest

Français intègre / honnête Intègre, honnête. «节义廉退» : la probité.

Español íntegro / honesto Íntegro, honesto. «节义廉退»: la probidad.

العربية نزيه / صادق نزيه، صادق. «节义廉退»: النزاهة.

Русский честный / неподкупный Честный, неподкупный. «节义廉退»: неподкупность.

Common words

廉洁lián jiéhonest
廉价lián jiàcheap

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