念 niàn — think of, miss · English

念

niàn

think of, miss

At a glance · 念

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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.

念字小篆从心今声，为形声字；本义为思念、念头。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

念本义为思念、惦念。

Structure

形声字，下部『心』为意符，上部『今』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinniàn

Radical心

Strokes8

UnicodeU+5FF5

Character type形声

Theme动作

Six languages, one character

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

English think of, miss Nian is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to think of and miss.

Français penser à, manquer Nian est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant penser à et manquer.

Español pensar en, echar de menos Nian es un carácter fonosemántico que significa pensar en y echar de menos.

العربية يتذكر، يشتاق نيان حرف صوتي دلالي يعني التفكير في والشوق.

Русский думать о, скучать Нянь — фоносемантический знак, означающий думать о и скучать.

Common words

念头niàn touthought
想念xiǎng niànmiss

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