譚

Phono-semantic compound:

言 (speech) — semantic component

覃 (deep, extensive) — phonetic component, indicating sound (tam / tán) and meanings such as deep, broad, extended, which influence extended senses like “rich, expansive speech.”

Thus the character originally meant “deep / extended speech,” later generalized to talk, discourse, story, conversation.

《說文解字》 (Shuowen Jiezi):

「譚，語也。从言，覃聲。」

“譚 means to speak; composed of 言 with 覃 as the sound.”

This is the standard definition confirming its phono-semantic structure.

The phonetic 覃 ("deep, extensive") shapes these metaphorical senses.

Korean prefers 談 for everyday use (“담화, 담소”), while 譚 appears more in literary or storytelling contexts.

담화 (譚話) — talk, conversation (rare, literary)

야담 (野譚) — anecdote, tale, folk story

기담 (奇譚) — strange tale

괴담 (怪譚) — ghost story, eerie tale

풍속담 (風俗譚) — tales of customs

Although both 談 and 譚 mean “to talk,” they differ:

談 — general “talk, discuss,” everyday usage

譚 — literary “tale, narrative,” deeper or story-like speech

Many Korean and Japanese compounds divide along this nuance.

Classical citations:

《詩經·大雅·生民》 (The Book of Songs)

「誕彌厥聲，譚譚其慶。」

“His fame grew ever more, and great indeed were his blessings.”

Here 譚譚 is used in the sense of “grand, abundant, flourishing.”

《文選·班固〈幽通賦〉》 (Wenxuan, Anthology of Literature)

「議者譚言，或深或淺。」

“The debaters speak, sometimes deeply, sometimes shallowly.”

Shows the meaning “to discourse / to speak in depth.”