坛

壇
tán
#1,804 most
frequent character
altar, platform, rostrum

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

坛 puts 土 earth with 云, an empty part that is a shortened form of 亶, once the sound part. It first meant a tall platform for sacrifices, then grew to 'altar', 'platform', and 'forum'. The sense 'earthen jar' was borrowed only for its sound.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

坛tán
earthen jar

Homophones

HSK 4
谈tán
to talk
弹tán
to pluck (a string)
坛tán
earthen jar

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