薰
xūn
a fragrant herb; to perfume or fumigate with smoke/vapor; to cauterize.
Meaning
- Botanical: A fragrant herb or aromatic plant used for incense and medicine.
- Aromatic Process: To perfume, scent, or fragrance an object or space via smoke or vapor.
- Thermal/Medical Process: To fumigate, warm with steam, or cauterize.
Grammar and usage
- Noun: The plant itself or the resulting scent.
- Transitive Verb: The object is typically the entity being treated or enhanced (e.g., clothing, a room, skin).
Distinctions
- 薰 vs. 熏: These are often interchangeable. However, the presence of the grass radical (艹) in 薰 typically signals a botanical source or an aromatic purpose, whereas 熏 is used for more general heat, steam, or fire-driven smoke.
- Process vs. Perception: This glyph describes the application of a medium (smoke/vapor), not the act of smelling it; distinguish from verbs of perception such as 聞 (to smell) or 嗅 (to sniff).
Translator notes
- Contextual Pivot: When the meaning is ambiguous, the choice usually rests on whether the scene is one of luxury (perfuming), hygiene (fumigation), or surgery (cauterization).
- Botanical Identification: Avoid overly specific modern botanical identifications unless the text provides precise descriptors.
Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.