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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

令

lìng
to order; to command
  • Ideogrammatic compound 會意
  • HSK 5
  • TOCFL 5
  • radical 人
  • 5 strokes

Etymology graph

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  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
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Origin

Etymology 1

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 亼 + 卩. The upper part is an open mouth to convey the idea of giving orders, while the bottom part is a kneeling man. Compare 兄, in which an open mouth on top of the character conveys the same idea of giving orders.

Usually thought to be related to 命 (OC *mriŋ(h), “order”) (Schuessler, 2007). Phonologically, the Old Chinese rhyme of this word shifted from the zhen (真) group to the geng (耕) group by the mid-Spring and Autumn period.

In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, its orthography was strictly differentiated by context: 𪟹 was used as an adverb meaning "long-lasting" (永), while 霝 was used specifically in the phrase 令終 (“good end”). The common literary meaning "good; beautiful" (善) likely evolved from this earlier sense of "long-lasting".

Furthermore, the sense of "season" (e.g., 時令) may derive directly from "rule; regular order", rather than being an extension of "monthly ordinances" (月令). During the Warring States period, the sense of "local magistrate" was often written as 命 or other variants (e.g., 𠊈, 𬔣) in Chu and Jin scripts.

As a surname, 令 has multiple origins, one being a shortened form of 令狐 (Línghú).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English ream.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • ideaChinese亼 “mouth”
    • ideaChinese入 “to enter; to go into”
    • ideaChinese一 “one”
  • ideaChinese卩 “kneeling person”
  • borrowedEnglishream “Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishrem
      • inheritedOld Englishrēam “cream”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishreme
      • derivedOld Frenchraime

Words built on it: 冷, 零, 領, 命令

Meanings

character
  1. to order; to command
  2. order; command; directive
  3. to make (someone do something); to cause; to allow
  4. governor; magistrate (official title)
  5. good; excellent
  6. time; season

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

令：發號也。从亼、卪。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 命令、法令。 例：軍令、人事命令
  2. 時節。 例：時令、節令、夏令
  3. 讓、使得。 例：令人難堪
  4. 好的、善的。 例：令德、令譽、令名
  5. 敬辭。用以尊稱他人的親屬。 例：令尊、令堂、令郎
  6. 詞、曲中小令的簡稱。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 令 was written 字形演變

  1. 令 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 令 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 令 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 令 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 令 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 令 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 令