某
some; a certain; sb or sth indefinite; such-and-such
Closest English meanings
certain·some
The Calligrapher — Xiāo Zǐyún 萧子云
Liang calligrapher who created small-seal flying-white (feibai); famed for cursive and clerical script
南朝梁 calligrapher (), master of 飞白/cursive script — known for 创飞白书. Liang dynasty (Southern Dynasties)
Cultural Story
某 is the placeholder for a name withheld — the 某 in old histories where the annalist protects or does not know a person. A speaker uses it to avoid saying who did the deed. The character is discretion made visible, the blank the writer leaves where a noun should be, a deliberate hole in the sentence.
Common words & phrases
- 某个 a certain · some
- 某人 someone · a certain person
- 某某 so-and-so · certain
- 某种 a certain kind · some
Read the story behind the character
某 is the redaction of daily life: 某人 the a certain person of a gossip item, 某某 the blacked-out name in a leaked document, 某种 the vague a kind of a salesman deploys. It is the word you use when naming would embarrass or implicate. The character is the language's polite blindfold, drawn over a face.
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