汎

A phono-semantic compound:

水 “water” semantic component

凡 (beom / fàn) phonetic component, meaning “generally; in all cases”

The character originally described water spreading or floating freely, without fixed boundaries.

The earliest meaning of 汎 is "water floating, spreading, or overflowing beyond limits."

From this physical image arose abstract meanings such as breadth, generality, and diffuseness.

범람 (汎濫) — flooding; overflow

범위 (汎圍) — wide scope (rare/archaic)

범용 (汎用) — general-purpose

범론 (汎論) — general discussion

범인류적 (汎人類的) — pan-human; universal

汎 describes movement without confinement. Whether water overflowing banks, ideas spreading across fields, or love extending to all beings, 汎 expresses expansion beyond boundaries.

Related characters:

泛 — to float; to drift (closely related variant, more common in modern Chinese)

濫 — overflow; excess

漫 — diffuse; unrestrained

廣 — broad; wide

凡 — generally; all (phonetic base)

Classical citations:

Analects (論語, 1.6)

「 汎愛眾，而親仁」

“Love all people and be close to the virtuous.”

Here, 汎愛 means to love widely and without discrimination, emphasizing moral universality.

Dao De Jing (道德經, ch. 34)

「 大道汎兮，其可左右」

“The Great Way flows everywhere; it may go left or right.”

汎 vividly conveys the all-pervading, boundaryless nature of the Dao.

Classical historical narratives

「 水汎濫而不可制」

“The waters overflowed and could not be controlled.”

汎 retains its literal hydrological sense.