露

Also used as an abbreviation for Russia (露西亞 / 러시아) in East Asian contexts.

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

雨 (비 우) — semantic component, meaning rain, weather, moisture.

路 (길 로) — phonetic component, giving the sound ro and suggesting path, openness, surface exposure.

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「露，潤澤也。从雨，路聲。」

“露 means moistening or dew. Formed from 雨 (rain) and the sound 路 (road).”

Originally, 露 described the dew that appears openly under the sky — moisture “exposed” upon surfaces before the morning sun.

From this physical sense developed the figurative meanings of disclosure and manifestation.

露水 (로수) — dew

露天 (노천) — under the open sky, outdoors

暴露 (폭로) — to expose, to reveal

露出 (노출) — to reveal, to be exposed

透露 (투로) — to leak (information), to disclose

露面 (노면) — to appear in public, to show one’s face

風露 (풍로) — wind and dew; the natural elements

血露 (혈로) — blood and tears (as metaphorical suffering)

In East Asian writing, 露 commonly appears in both nature imagery (dew as transient beauty) and social metaphors (exposure, openness, vulnerability).

Semantic development:

The earliest sense of 露 in oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions referred simply to dew, an atmospheric condensation symbolic of Heaven’s grace upon the Earth.

By the Han dynasty, it had expanded semantically to include:

- literal exposure — “to appear under heaven,”

- figurative revelation — “to make known, to uncover,”

- metaphorical openness — “to manifest one’s nature or truth.”

Thus, 露 came to encompass both the visible trace of nature’s breath and the human act of revealing what lies beneath the surface.

In classical poetry, 露 (dew) symbolizes ephemerality, purity, and the fleeting nature of life.

Morning dew glistens beautifully yet vanishes with the sun — a common metaphor for youth, glory, or mortal existence.

「朝露之危，不可久也。」 (Zhuangzi)

“Life is as fragile as morning dew — it cannot last long.”

In Buddhist texts, dew represents impermanence (無常) — transient yet precious, a reminder of life’s passing nature:

「人生如朝露，瞬息即滅。」

“Human life is like morning dew — it disappears in an instant.”

In Confucian and Daoist imagery, dew also signifies Heaven’s benevolence (天露), the subtle nourishment descending from above, unseen yet sustaining all things.

In modern Chinese and Korean, 露 retains its dual sense — natural dew and exposure. The poetic and practical meet in the same word:

露珠 (dew drop) → nature’s gentleness.

暴露 (revelation, exposure) → human disclosure.

Symbolic interpretation:

露 embodies the dual aspect of revelation and transience.

It is the moment when the hidden becomes visible, yet only briefly — a reflection of nature’s fleeting clarity.

「露者，天之淚也。」

“Dew is Heaven’s tear.”

A poetic image describing the condensation of invisible vapor into visible drops — the divine becoming manifest in the temporal world.

Thus, in philosophy and poetry alike, 露 represents truth revealed, beauty transient, and grace descending silently from above.

Extended usage: national name abbreviation

In modern Sino-Japanese and Korean writing, 露 is also used as an abbreviation for Russia (露西亞), following 19th-century transliteration conventions.

Examples:

露國 (로국) — Russia

中露關係 — Sino–Russian relations

日露戰爭 — Russo–Japanese War

This usage arose during the late Qing and Meiji periods when foreign names were commonly represented with semantic approximations and abbreviations (英, 法, 美, 露, 德, etc.).