潤

The core meaning unites natural nourishment (water, moisture) and moral or social beneficence (to enrich or bless).

A phono-semantic compound composed of:

水 (물 수) — semantic component, indicating relation to water or moisture.

閏 (윤달 윤) — phonetic component, giving the sound yun and conveying the idea of “adding, filling, or enriching.”

Thus 潤 literally means “to add moisture,” or “to make something full and rich as by water.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「潤，潤澤也。从水，閏聲。」

“潤 means ‘to moisten, to make glossy’; composed of 水 (‘water’) and 閏 (‘phonetic’).”

潤滑 (윤활) — lubrication, smoothness

潤澤 (윤택) — moist, glossy, prosperous

滋潤 (자윤) — to nourish, to moisturize

潤色 (윤색) — to polish writing; to embellish a text

潤筆 (윤필) — writer’s fee (lit. “moistening the brush”)

潤喉 (윤후) — to moisten the throat

潤肌 (윤기) — supple skin; moisture in the complexion

潤物 (윤물) — to nourish things (as rain)

潤財 (윤재) — to bring profit, increase wealth

潤恩 (윤은) — imperial favor, grace

In classical philosophy, 潤 embodies the moral and cosmic principle of gentle beneficence — the way of nourishing all things without struggle.

In Confucian moral discourse, 潤 symbolizes beneficence that nourishes without ostentation — like gentle rain that sustains all life silently.

This imagery appears frequently in The Book of Songs (詩經) and Mencius (孟子):

「潤物無聲」 (“To moisten things without sound”) became a proverbial expression for quiet virtue and benevolent influence.

「春雨潤物細無聲。」 (孟子·盡心下)

“Spring rain moistens all things, softly, without a sound.”

(Often quoted from later poetry elaborating Mencian imagery.)

Here, 潤 conveys both the quiet nourishing power of nature and the ideal benevolent influence of virtue.

In Daoist cosmology, 潤 represents the soft, life-giving quality of water, which enriches without contention (上善若水).

It signifies the Yin aspect — nurturing, receptive, and harmonizing.

In Buddhist writing, 潤 is used to describe spiritual nourishment or compassionate grace that “softens the hearts of beings.”

E.g., 法潤眾生 — “the Dharma moistens all living beings.”

Its positive and life-giving associations made it a common character in personal names throughout East Asia, symbolizing grace, harmony, and prosperity.