diàn

甸

Character · Noun

suburbs; place name; surname

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

3 senses · 7 examples
1.

noun

suburbs; outskirts (ancient usage)

archaic

Used only in classical or formal ancient Chinese contexts.

 《
Shī诗
jīng经
 》
zhōng中
yǒu有
 “
duī敦
bǐ彼
xíng行
wěi苇
 ，
niú牛
yáng羊
wù勿
jiàn践
lǚ履
 ，
fāng方
bāo苞
fāng方
tǐ体
 ，
wéi维
yè叶
ní泥
ní泥
 ”
 ，
qí其
zhōng中
de的
 “
diàn甸
 ”
zhǐ指
jiāo郊
wài外
tián田
yě野
 。

The Book of Songs contains a line where 'dian' refers to the suburban countryside.

Gǔ古
wén文
zhōng中
cháng常
yǐ以
 “
diàn甸
 ”
dài代
zhǐ指
dū都
chéng城
wài外
wéi围
de的
jiāo郊
yě野
qū区
yù域
 。

In classical Chinese texts, 'dian' is often used to refer to the suburban areas outside a capital city.

2.

noun

pasture; grassland (place name usage)

dialect

Commonly used in place names in Northeast China, referring to grasslands or pasturelands.

Huà桦
diàn甸
shì是
shì吉
Jílín林
shěng省
de的
yī一
gè个
xiàn县
jí级
shì市
 。

Huadian is a county-level city in Jilin Province.

Kuān宽
diàn甸
mǎn满
zú族
zì自
zhì治
xiàn县
wèi位
yú于
liáo辽
níng宁
shěng省
dōng东
bù部
 。

Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County is located in eastern Liaoning Province.

Show 1 more example
Hěn很
duō多
dōng东
běi北
de的
xiāng乡
zhèn镇
dì地
míng名
dōu都
dài带
yǒu有
 “
diàn甸
 ”
zì字
 。

Many township and village place names in Northeast China contain the character 'dian'.

3.

noun

surname Dian

neutral

A relatively rare Chinese surname.

Diàn甸
xiān先
shēng生
shì是
wǒ我
men们
gōng公
sī司
de的
xīn新
tóng同
shì事
 。

Mr. Dian is a new colleague at our company.

Bǎi百
jiā家
xìng姓
zhōng中
bìng并
méi没
yǒu有
shōu收
lù录
 “
diàn甸
 ”
xìng姓
 。

The Hundred Family Surnames classic does not include the surname 'dian'.