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荏苒. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
荏苒, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
荏苒 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
荏苒 you have here. The definition of the word
荏苒 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
荏苒, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
Etymology
A reduplicative, ideophonic compound in Late Old Chinese. Compare:
Pronunciation
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
|
| Character
|
荏
|
| Reading #
|
1/1
|
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
|
rěn
|
Middle
Chinese
|
‹ nyimX ›
|
Old
Chinese
|
/*nmʔ/ (< *num?)
|
| English
|
a kind of big beans
|
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;
* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
|
| Zhengzhang system (2003)
|
| Character
|
荏
|
苒
|
| Reading #
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
| No.
|
10814
|
10785
|
Phonetic
component
|
壬
|
冉
|
Rime
group
|
侵
|
談
|
Rime
subdivision
|
1
|
1
|
Corresponding
MC rime
|
荏
|
冉
|
Old
Chinese
|
/*njɯmʔ/
|
/*njamʔ/
|
Verb
荏苒
- (literary, of time) to pass gradually; to elapse; to slip by quickly or imperceptibly
玄德回新野之後，光陰荏苒，又早新春。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
玄德回新野之后，光阴荏苒，又早新春。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]- From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14th century CE
- Xuándé huí Xīnyě zhīhòu, guāngyīn rěnrǎn, yòu zǎo xīnchūn.
- After Xuande returned to Xinye, the time slipped away till spring was near.
荏苒三年，陞了御史，欽點廣東學道。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
荏苒三年，升了御史，钦点广东学道。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]- From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE
- Rěnrǎn sān nián, shēng le yùshǐ, qīndiǎn Guǎngdōng xuédào.
- In three years' time, he rose to the rank of censor and was appointed commissioner of education for Guangdong Province.
- (literary) to waste (time); to play for time
- (literary) to pass through many places; to move about
Derived terms
Adjective
荏苒
- (literary, ideophonic, of worry, sadness, etc.) incessant; never-ending; continual
- (literary, ideophonic) Alternative form of 荏染 (“weak; delicate”)