Han character 諼

The surrounding phrase decides whether 諼 means “deceive,” “forget,” or “tease.”

In 諼君以弒, 諼 means deceiving a ruler; in 馮諼, it is part of a personal name and stays untranslated.

A separate Mandarin reading covers teasing, lying, or joking with someone. That is a dictionary sense, not a general casual-chat signal.

Why does 諼 have more than one meaning?

The “forget” meaning is a later borrowing linked to a plant tradition.

The Book of Songs, an early Chinese poetry collection, includes the vow 永矢弗諼, “I will never forget.” The Shuowen, an early Chinese character dictionary, analyzes 諼 as 詐 (“deceive”): 言 points to speech and 爰 supplies the sound.

Later commentary links the “forget” reading with 藼, 萱, and 萲, forms associated with the forget-worry plant. This borrowing tradition does not make 萱 interchangeable with 諼 in every text.

Should you use 諼 in a casual message?

Usually no; the character is too ambiguous on its own.

諼 suits a classical quotation, a historical name, or deliberate archaic writing. For “don’t forget,” it can make a reader pause over the competing “deceive” sense.