Han character 淎

A rare character recorded for a water name. The Yupian, a Chinese character dictionary completed around 543, is the earliest named source in its dictionary record; the later Kangxi dictionary quotes its gloss as “water.” Its structure pairs 氵, the water marker, with 奉 as a sound component, a part that hints at pronunciation.

Vietnamese chữ Nôm, a historical writing system that adapted Chinese characters to write Vietnamese, records 淎 for vũng, meaning a pool or sheltered bay. As of 2026, Hán-Nôm references also list 漨 as a variant. The 1820 Gia Định Thành Thông Chí, a Vietnamese regional gazetteer, uses 淎艚 for the local name of Vũng Tàu.