坛
罈tán
#1,804 most
frequent character
earthen jar
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.
Ask DeepSeek
Your word lists
Sign in to add this word to your private lists.