央

yāng

center, conclude, run out; beg

Meaning

  • The center, midst, or heart of a place or period; often implies the peak or intensification of an event or state.
  • To conclude, end, or run out; referring to a process reaching its natural limit or being exhausted.
  • To beg, beseech, or urgently request.

Grammar and usage

  • Noun/Adjective: Typically denotes "center" or "limit."
  • Verb: Typically denotes "concluding" or "pleading."

Distinctions

  • Similar to 中 (center), but 央 often carries a connotation of the "peak" of an event.

History and forms

  • Tang-period records indicate a reading of //qiāng//, which may be relevant for rhymed texts or period-specific puns.

Translator notes

  • There is a semantic trajectory from center → peak/culmination → end. Depending on the context, 央 may describe either the height of an action or the moment it ceases.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.