阵
disposition of troops; wave; spate; burst; spell; short period of time
Closest English meanings
burst·spell·a while
The Calligrapher — Suǒ Jìng 索靖
Jin calligrapher famed for zhangcao (clerical-cursive script); author of the Essay on Cursive Script.
Jin calligrapher (), master of clerical cursive — known for 《月仪帖》. Jin dynasty
Cultural Story
陣, now 阵, sets 車, “chariot,” within the mound radical 阝 and originally meant the battle array, the lined-up chariots and troops that formed an army's formation. Sun Tzu wrote of breaking the enemy's 阵. From the battlefield it widened to any brief, patterned spell, a gust or a shower, the shape that something takes for a short, intense while.
Common words & phrases
- 一阵 a burst · a spell · a fit
- 阵地 position · front
- 阵风 gust of wind
- 阵雨 shower · intermittent rain
- 阵容 lineup · battle array
Read the story behind the character
We still say 一阵, a burst or spell, of laughter or rain, and 阵地 is a held position on a front. A 阵风 is a gust of wind, a 阵雨 a passing shower, and a team's 阵容 its lineup. 阵 keeps the military root in sports and weather alike, a word for any formation or fleeting wave that gathers, bears down, and then dissolves.
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