■ radical

lián

ally

How it’s built

Simplified form of 聯. Phonosemantic compound. 耳 represents the meaning and 𢇇 represents the sound. Depicts earrings joined to the ear.

耳

meaning

ear

关

simplified

shut; turn off; involve — Shorthand for the 𢇇 component in the traditional character 聯. The pronunciation of 聯 was similar to 𢇇 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.

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