Korean Hanja 㵛

The source decides which gloss you can defend. A Korean hanja dictionary gives the reading seon (선) and glosses 㵛 as “present a book.” In the old song Ujeokga, a commentary interprets 㵛陵 through 善業 (“good deed” or merit). A 2019 study proposes “heal” as a possibility, linking it to a Japanese dictionary entry; it does not settle the character’s meaning.

Keep the original glyph when quoting that line: these readings belong to different interpretive traditions, so no one English gloss fits every occurrence.

Where does 㵛 come from?

It belongs to Korea’s locally created Han-character tradition. Korean-made Han characters adapted the borrowed Han script to record Korean words and sounds. A study classifies 㵛 among native Korean phono-semantic characters: its components combine an element associated with meaning and one associated with sound.

The earliest known attestation appears in the 13th-century Samguk Yusa, a Korean historical compilation: 㵛 occurs in 㵛陵 in the hyangga Ujeokga, an old Korean song. Its episode follows monk Yeongjae, whom armed thieves demand a song from; moved by his performance, they abandon violence and become monks. This attests the character by the 13th century; it does not date its invention.

A 2019 study points to a Japanese dictionary entry, ヲサム (“to heal”), as a possible trace of the Korean character and suggests that 㵛 may have been formed using 善. This cross-border connection is a scholarly proposal, not a settled reading.

What should I do if someone sends 㵛?

Treat a bare 㵛 as an identification clue. As of 2026, it has no established casual-chat meaning. Ask which text, dictionary, or name record it came from; without that cue, any translation overstates what the glyph alone tells you.

If they need a translation, give the Korean reading 선 and identify the source tradition. That makes the uncertainty concrete without choosing among the competing glosses for them.