臧
zāng
Good, virtuous; to hide or store.
Meaning
- Evaluative: "Good," "right," or "virtuous." This typically denotes propriety or moral fitness rather than generic quality.
- Functional: "To hide," "to store," "to conceal," or "to preserve."
- Administrative: The exercise of custody, management, or oversight; the act of having something in one's keeping or charge.
Grammar and usage
May function as an adjective or as a noun referring to a person of virtuous character.
Distinctions
In administrative contexts (glossed as "command"), this glyph refers to custody and oversight rather than the issuance of orders (e.g., 令).
History and forms
Frequently used interchangeably with 藏. The fanqie reading (則郎) confirms the pronunciation //zāng//.
Translator notes
If the syntax suggests an action involving objects, secrets, or preservation, treat this glyph as a phonetic loan or variant for 藏 (//cáng//).
Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.