褐

hè

Coarse woolen cloth; dull brown or dark color.

Meaning

  • Material: Coarse woolen or hair-cloth (animal fibers).
  • Color: Dull brown, dark, or muddy grey; the hue of untreated wool.

Distinctions

  • Substance vs. Hue: The glyph frequently oscillates between describing a tactile substance (coarseness) and a visual color (darkness/brown).
  • Contrastive Use: When appearing in contrast with silk (絲) or hemp (麻), the emphasis typically shifts toward coarseness or social status rather than color.

History and forms

  • Fanqie reading: 胡葛
  • Tang-period reading: hɑt

Translator notes

  • Social Markers: Because animal fibers were associated with the periphery or lower classes, 褐 often serves as a shorthand for poverty, rustic origins, or non-Chinese ("barbarian") identity.
  • Asceticism: In monastic or hermitic contexts—specifically in the term 褐衣 (brown robes)—the glyph signifies an intentional rejection of luxury and a commitment to spiritual poverty and humility.

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