堇 (jǐn) - Violet — a type of flowering plant & also used to mean 'few', 'scant', or 'difficult'

堇Tone 3

jǐn ｜ 11 strokes ｜ radical:

傑君

堇 · jǐn

Violet — a type of flowering plant;

also used to mean 'few', 'scant', or 'difficult' in classical Chinese.

Violet — a type of flowering plantalso used to mean 'few', 'scant', or 'difficult'

Usage highlights

Violet flowerScarcityDifficultyClay soilViolet plantRarely

Synonyms

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The violet flower is beautiful (堇花).
  • There is a scarcity of resources (资源堇缺).
  • He faced difficult circumstances (堇难).
  • The soil is clay-like (堇土).

Collocations

  • Violet flower(堇花)
  • Scarcity(堇缺)
  • Difficulty(堇难)
  • Clay soil(堇土)
  • Violet plant(堇菜)
  • Rarely(堇见)

Idioms

  • As difficult as climbing to the sky(堇天难登)
  • Scarce as morning stars(堇若晨星)
  • Violet's humble beauty(堇色谦华)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In ancient texts, 堇 often represented scarcity or difficulty, reflecting challenging conditions.
  • The character is associated with the violet flower, symbolizing modesty and faithfulness in floriography.
  • Used in classical Chinese to denote rarity or something hard to obtain.

FAQ