幻

The core sense is the unreal or deceptive appearance of things, and the idea of transformation.

The ancient form of 幻 is obscure and historically problematic. It is usually analyzed as:

Derived from 幺 (작을 요) with one stroke extended.

Possibly representing a twisting or shifting thread, symbolizing change, variability

No stable oracle-bone or bronze-engraving form is known.

Considered formally derived, not pictographic.

Semantic explanation (traditional commentary):

幻 conveys “unstable, deceptive, changeable.”

Because 幺 depicts something tiny, curling, or threadlike, the extended form gives a sense of things twisting into deceptive shape.

Semantic development:

Illusion / deception — things that look real but are not; mirages, apparitions, delusions.

False perception — “seeing incorrectly” (헛보이다).

Transformation / change — shifting, disappearing, transient states,

used in Daoist and Buddhist texts.

Ephemeral existence — metaphor for life's temporariness and unreality.

In Korean, 幻(환) appears mainly in Sino-Korean words referring to illusion, delusion, fantasy, and transformation.

Illusion / false appearance:

幻想 (환상) — 실제와 다른 헛된 모습; illusion; fantasy

幻影 (환영) — 헛보이는 그림자; phantom; apparition

幻覺 (환각) — 착각, 헛것을 봄; hallucination

幻視 (환시) — 시각적 환각; visual hallucination

Transformation / change:

幻化 (환화) — 변하여 다른 모습이 됨; transformation; magical change

幻變 (환변) — 변화가 심함; shifting transformation

幻轉 (환전) — 문체나 모습이 갑자기 바뀜; sudden alteration

Buddhist / philosophical:

幻身 (환신) — 헛된 몸; illusory body

幻世 (환세) — 덧없는 세상; illusory world

幻滅 (환멸) — 허망함이 드러남; revelation of illusion; extinction of fantasy

These forms appear widely in Korean philosophy, literature, clinical psychology (hallucination terms), and Buddhist texts.

In Daoist 幻 carries the idea that all forms are transient and that rigid distinctions dissolve upon deeper understanding.

《莊子·齊物論》 (Zhuangzi)

「方生方死，方死方生，方可方不可，方不可方可，方是方非，方非方是……幻化而不知其所由。」

“Life becomes death, and death becomes life; can becomes cannot, cannot becomes can; right becomes wrong, wrong becomes right… all transform like illusions, and none know from where it arises” — 幻化 = illusory transformation.

《列子·天瑞》 (Liezi)

「天地之变化，譬若幻也。」

“The transformations of Heaven and Earth are like illusions.”

In Mahayana Buddhism, 幻 is central:

色身如幻 (“the material body is like illusion”)

幻化 means appearance produced by karmic conditions, not inherently real.

《法華經》(Lotus Sutra)

「世間皆如幻，若夢若影像。」

“The world is all like an illusion—like a dream, like an image.”

《大般涅槃經》 (Mahaparinirvana Sutra)

「幻身無常。」

“The illusory body is impermanent.”

These citations show 幻 as illusion, transformation, and ephemeral appearance—especially important in Daoist and Buddhist philosophy.

𠄔 (U+20114) — extremely rare variant; graphically resembles a rotated 予

This variant exists only because the seal script form of 幻 resembles 予 rotated 180°

Not used historically; appears in Unicode’s SIP only

Not supported on iPhone Safari or many Android browsers, rendering as blank boxes.

Also often miscounted as two characters in certain editors (e.g., older versions of Namuwiki).

Thus, while 𠄔 is technically a recorded variant, 幻 is the only form actually used.