jiān

椾

Character · Noun · VerbTraditional緘

letter paper; letter; seal; close

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

noun

letter paper; stationery; document

archaic

In literary/archaic usage, refers to the paper for writing letters or an official document.

Gǔ古
rén人
xiě写
xìn信
duō多
yòng用
juàn绢
bó帛
huò或
zhú竹
jiǎn简
 ，
hòu后
lái来
cái才
yòng用
zhǐ纸
zuò作
xìn信
jiān缄
 。

Ancient people often used silk or bamboo slips to write letters; later they used paper as stationery.

Tā他
zhǎn展
dú读
yuǎn远
fāng方
qīn亲
yǒu友
jì寄
lái来
de的
huá华
jiān缄
 。

He unfolded and read the elegant letter from distant relatives and friends.

2.

verb

to seal; to close; to fasten

formal

Refers to the act of sealing an envelope, a container, or a mouth to prevent opening. This sense is more common in modern usage than the 'letter' sense.

Xìn信
fēng封
yǐ已
jīng经
jiān缄
hǎo好
 ，
zhǔn准
bèi备
jì寄
chū出
 。

The envelope has been sealed and is ready to be mailed.

Yī医
shēng生
dīng叮
zhǔ嘱
bìng病
rén人
shù术
hòu后
yào要
jiān缄
kǒu口
bù不
yǔ语
 ，
hǎo好
hǎo好
xiū休
xī息
 。

The doctor instructed the patient to keep their mouth shut and rest well after the operation.