冥

㝠
míng
#2,733 most
frequent character
old variant of 冥[ming2]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

冥 began as a cover over the sun 日, giving the first sense 'dark'. A person 大 was added later, now written 六, and 冖 supplies the sound. The sense grew to 'underworld', then 'deep, obscure' and 'stupid'.

Drawn as: cover over the sun

冥 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
螟暝蓂
picture2 characters
瞑溟

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Same Characters, Different Readings

冥míng
dark, deep, stupid, the underworld

Homophones

名míng
name
明míng
bright, opposite: dark 暗[an4]
鸣míng
to cry (of birds, animals and insects)

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