What 麝 means
麝 names the musk deer; 麝香 names its aromatic musk.
Musk is used in fragrance and traditional Chinese medicine.
The Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese dictionary compiled in the second century CE, describes a small deer-like animal with a scented navel and analyzes 麝 with 鹿 and 射. The Shanhaijing also preserves the animal tradition, though that account does not necessarily use this exact written form.
Why does 麝 have a different use in Japanese?
In Japanese, it can name the deer or shorten 麝香.
During early Sino-Japanese exchange, knowledge about Chinese medicinal materials entered Japanese natural history; identifying the material and its authenticity mattered. This history helps explain the Japanese shortening, while Chinese uses 麝香 for the aromatic material.
A specialized, bookish character; 麝香 is clearer when you mean the aromatic material.
For the scent, write 麝香; 麝 alone names the musk deer.
Who writes 麝
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How to type or find 麝
- Search it as
- musk · 麝香 · shè · she4 · jakou · sahyang · xạ
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
麝\9E9DCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.