Dong Chinese dictionary

yǎn, yān

ere long

Lightning (电) is a big (大) and sudden and abrupt phenomenon.

Components

大 Meaning component

dà, dài

big

电 Meaning component

diàn

electricity

Evolution

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

yǎn

ere long; remain, tarry; feeble; suddenly; abruptly; hastily; to cover; to surround

Yǎn

surname Yan

yān

variant of 閹|阉[yān]; to castrate; variant of 淹[yān]; to delay

Most common words with 奄

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	奄奄一息	dying
	奄	suddenly
	气息奄奄	to have only a breath of life (idiom)

Component uses

Meaning component in 3 characters (0 verified)

Sound component in 15 characters (0 verified)

Sources