然

Stroke order

Stroke order

然 (Kangxi radical 86, 火+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 月大火 (BKF), four-corner 2333₃, composition ⿱⿰𱼀犬灬)

• 㒄, 㜣, 㦓, 㬗, 䔳, 䳿, 嘫, 撚, 橪, 燃, 繎, 蹨, 撚, 𡑋, 𡮫, 𤺱, 𥊶, 𥢯, 𥳚

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 675, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19149
• Dae Jaweon: page 1086, character 20
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2213, character 5
• Unihan data for U+7136

Historical forms of the character 然
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *njen) : phonetic 肰 (OC *njen, “dog meat”) + semantic 火 (“fire”) – to burn. Also ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) . The derivative 燃 (OC *njen) stands for the original word in Modern Chinese.

Note that the upper left component is analyzed as 肉 (meat), and in the component 肰 it is drawn as a tilted 月 (“moon”), appearing more like 夕 (“evening”) with an extra stroke (𱼀); compare 祭, 將.

A fusion of 如 (OC *nja, *njas) with an element *-n which has a demonstrative meaning (Schuessler, 2007).

然

1. ^† Original form of 燃 (rán, “to burn”).

   • 凡有四端於我者，知皆擴而充之矣，若火之始然，泉之始達。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     凡有四端于我者，知皆扩而充之矣，若火之始然，泉之始达。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Fán yǒu sìduān yú wǒ zhě, zhī jiē kuò ér chōng zhī yǐ, ruò huǒ zhī shǐ rán, quán zhī shǐ dá. [Pinyin]

     Since all men have these four principles in themselves, let them know to give them all their development and completion, and the issue will be like that of fire which has begun to burn, or that of a spring which has begun to find vent.

2. ^† a demonstrative that refers to a previous verbal clause

   Near-synonym: 是 (shì)

   1. ^† so; thus; in this manner; like this

      然後／然后  ―  ránhòu  ―  then (literally, “after things turn out this way”)

      不然  ―  bùrán  ―  or else, otherwise (literally, “not so”)

      非然也。 [Classical Chinese]  ―  Fēi rán yě. [Pinyin]  ―  It is not so. / That is not how it is.

      • 子曰：「何必高宗，古之人皆然。」 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

        From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

        Zǐ yuē: “Hé bì Gāo Zōng, gǔ zhī rén jiē rán.” [Pinyin]

        The Master said, "Why must Gao Zong be referred to as an example of this? The ancients were all like this.

   2. ^† Suffix forming adverbs, sometimes also adjectives, with an abstract meaning of “in the manner of, like”.

      顯然／显然  ―  xiǎnrán  ―  apparently, obviously

      果然  ―  guǒrán  ―  as expected (literally, “as a result”)

      龐然大物／庞然大物  ―  pángrándàwù  ―  giant, something enormous (literally, “a bigly big thing”)

      喟然長嘆／喟然长叹  ―  kuìránchángtàn  ―  to sigh (with 喟 being an onomatopoeia)

3. ^† metaphors extracted from fossilizations of sense 2
   1. ^† but

      然而  ―  rán'ér  ―  but (literally, “(having said) that, and/but”)

      • 吾不能早用子，今急而求子，是寡人之過也。然鄭亡，子亦有不利焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        吾不能早用子，今急而求子，是寡人之过也。然郑亡，子亦有不利焉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

        Wú bùnéng zǎo yòng zǐ, jīn jí ér qiú zǐ, shì guǎrén zhī guò yě. Rán Zhèng wáng, zǐ yì yǒu bùlì yān. [Pinyin]

        That I was not able to employ you earlier, and now beg your help in my straits, I acknowledge to be my fault. But if Zheng perish, you also will suffer loss.

   2. ^† correct; right

      不以為然／不以为然  ―  bùyǐwèirán  ―  to not regard as correct (literally, “not regarding (reality) as (being) that”); to object

      • 子曰：「雍之言然。」 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

        From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

        Zǐ yuē: “Yōng zhī yán rán.” [Pinyin]

        The Master said, "Yong's words are right."

   3. ^† to regard as correct; to agree

      • 沛公然其計，從之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        沛公然其计，从之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

        Pèi gōng rán qí jì, cóng zhī. [Pinyin]

        Liu Bang agreed with his plan and followed it.

4. (Teochew) to resemble; to be like

This word is fossilized and cannot be used to form new expressions in Modern Chinese. In earlier Chinese, it could freely refer to any verb clause.

(literally, “So [the] good user [of] troops resembles like quickly [...] quickly [doing] that, i.e. using troops”)

Alternatively punctuated 投之亡地。然後存。陷之死地。然後生

(literally, “Throw them (the troops) [into] death land. After doing that [they will] survive. Sink them (the troops) [into] death land. After doing that [they will] live”)

With the alternative punctuation, the quote commands the reader to actually try this, which is somewhat reasonable. However in Classical Chinese, all pronouns, including this, can also used be topicalizers to merely continue the last clause but linguistically unfocus it instead of starting a new sentence. The topicalization interpretation is equal to the following:

*投之亡地後存。陷之死地後生

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

1. and; and then; and therefore
2. so; if so; as it is; in that way
3. however; but
4. a certain thing; a sort of thing

• Go-on: ねん (nen, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: ぜん (zen, Jōyō)
• Kun: しか (shika, 然)、しかり (shikari, 然り)、しかし (shikashi, 然し)、しかも (shikamo, 然も)、もえる (moeru, 然える)、しかれども (shikaredomo, 然れども)、しかして (shikashite, 然して)、さ (sa, 然)

From Middle Chinese 然 (nyen, “-like”).

• IPA^(key): [d͡zẽ̞ɴ]

然(ぜん) • (-zen) 

1. indicates a state (no specific semantic content)

• Halpern, Jack: New Japanese-English Character Dictionary -Kenkyusha 1990

然 (eumhun 그러할 연 (geureohal yeon))

1. hanja form^? of 연 (“be as it is”)

然: Hán Việt readings: nhiên

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.