言

yán
#355 most
frequent character
words, speech, to say, to talk

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

言 was once written as 舌, tongue, with an extra mark that may show the tongue moving. Its first meaning was 'spoken language'. From there it grew to 'to speak' and then 'words'.

言 as a component in other characters

meaning12 characters
信警誉譬詹謇誊訇訾諡訚謦
sound2 characters
唁狺
picture5 characters
誓詈霅譭䜌

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Homophones

HSK 4
盐yán
salt
严yán
strict, tight, severe, stern
沿yán
along, follow
炎yán
flame, inflammation, -itis

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