皇
huáng
#758 most
frequent character
emperor, old variant of 惶[huang2]
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
皇 began as a picture of a standing torch with a flame; 王 wáng gave the sound. Its first sense was shining light. The senses 'sovereign' and 'emperor' were borrowed for sound alone, with no link to the torch picture.
Drawn as: standing torch with flame
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