蓝 lán — indigo; blue · English

蓝

lán

indigo; blue

At a glance · 蓝

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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.

小篆从艸，監声，本义为蓼蓝（染草）。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为蓝草（可染青），后指蓝色。

Structure

形声字，从艸（意符，植物），監（jiān）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinlán

Radical艹

Strokes14

UnicodeU+84DD

Character type形声

Theme植物

Six languages, one character

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

English indigo; blue The indigo plant; also the color blue.

Français indigo; bleu La plante d’indigo ; aussi le bleu.

Español añil; azul La planta del añil ; también el azul.

العربية نيلة؛ أزرق نبات النيلة؛ ويُستعار للأزرق.

Русский индиго; синий Растение индиго; также синий цвет.

Common words

蓝色lán sèblue
蓝lánblue

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