弦

  • bowstring, string of a musical instrument;

Etymology

Phono-semantic compound:

弓 (궁, “bow”) — denotes bow/string.

玄 (현, “dark, profound”) — provides sound and also contributes semantic nuance (“thread, cord”).

Thus originally “the string attached to a bow,” later extended to any string.

Usage in Korean

弦樂 (현악) — string music

琴弦 (금현) — strings of a zither/instrument

弦月 (현월) — crescent moon (lit. “string moon”)

心弦 (심현) — heartstrings, emotions

Alternative forms

絃 (줄 현) (used in Korea and some Japanese contexts, later unified under 弦).

弦
시위
현
siwi
hyeon
Kangxi radical:57, 弓 + 5
Strokes:8
Unicode:U+5F26
Cangjie input:
  • 弓卜女戈 (NYVI)
Composition:
  • ⿰ 弓 玄

Neighboring characters in the dictionary

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