kūn

elder brother

Original meaning: 

insect

Depicts an insect. Based on the original meaning "insect", now preserved in the word 昆虫. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Evolution

昆 Bronze script Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
昆 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
昆 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
昆 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

kūn

elder brother; descendants; descendant; a style of Chinese poetry

() 

kūn

variant of |[kūn]

() 

kūn

used in place names, notably Kunlun Mountains 崑崙|昆仑[Kūn​lún]; (also used for transliteration)

Most common words with 昆
Freq.
Word
Meaning

昆虫

insect

昆明

Kunming prefecture-level city and capital of Yunnan province in southwest China

descendant

昆仑

Kunlun (Karakorum) mountain range in Xinjiang

昆明市

Kunming, prefecture-level city and capital of Yunnan province in southwest China

Component uses

Sound component in 17 characters (1 verified)