阳 yáng — sun, positive · English

阳

yáng

sun, positive

At a glance · 阳

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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.

阳字小篆从阜昜声，为形声字；本义为山南水北、日光所照之处。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

阳本义为向阳之处，引申为太阳、阳气。

Structure

形声字，左部『阜』（阝）为意符表山地，右部『昜』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinyáng

Radical阝

Strokes6

UnicodeU+9633

Character type形声

Theme天文

Six languages, one character

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

English sun, positive Yang is a phonetic-semantic character meaning the sunny side and, in cosmology, the active positive principle.

Français soleil, yang Yang est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant le côté ensoleillé et, en cosmologie, le principe positif.

Español sol, yang Yang es un carácter fonosemántico que significa el lado soleado y, en cosmología, el principio positivo.

العربية شمس، يانغ يانغ حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الجانب المشمس، ويرمز للمبدأ الموجب.

Русский солнце, ян Ян — фоносемантический знак, означающий освещённую сторону и активное начало.

Common words

太阳tài yángsun
阳光yáng guāngsunlight

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