封
fēng
to confer
surname Feng; to grant; to bestow a title; to seal; classifier for sealed objects, esp. letters
jade tablet (圭) + measured hand (寸) = seal and confer
In ancient China, rulers would heap earth (圭 originally depicted a mound of soil) and use a measured hand gesture (寸) to officially grant land or titles. The idea of sealing and bestowing flows from this ritual act of formal, measured conferral.
她给远方的朋友寄了一封信。
tā gěi yuǎn fāng de péng yǒu jì le yī fēng xìn。
She mailed a letter to a friend far away.
皇帝封他为大将军。
huáng dì fēng tā wéi dà jiāng jūn。
The emperor conferred upon him the title of general.
Words with 封
开封
kāi fēng
see 開封市|开封市[Kai1 feng1 Shi4]
开封市
kāi fēng shì
Kaifeng, prefecture-level city in Henan Province 河南省[He2 nan2 Sheng3]
开封府
kāi fēng fǔ
Kaifeng as the capital of Northern Song dynasty
首日封
shǒu rì fēng
first day cover (philately)
信封
xìn fēng
envelope
自封
zì fēng
to proclaim oneself (sth)
自封袋
zì fēng dài
resealable bag; ziplock bag
册封
cè fēng
to confer a title upon sb
冰封
bīng fēng
to freeze over
分封
fēn fēng
to divide and confer (property on one's descendants)
分封制
fēn fēng zhì
the feudal system
加封
jiā fēng
to seal up (a door with a paper seal, or a document)