fēng
seal; confer; envelop
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我给他写了一封信。
wǒ gěi tā xiěle yī fēng xìn.
I wrote him a letter.
这个信封里有一张照片。
zhège xìnfēng lǐ yǒu yī zhāng zhàopiàn.
There is a photo in this envelope.
他把信封封好了。
tā bǎ xìnfēng fēng hǎole.
He sealed the envelope.
开 (kāi)
open
解 (jiě)
untie
The Chinese character 封 (fēng) is composed of two parts: the radical 阜 (fù), which means "mound" or "hill", and the phonetic component 封 (fēng), which is a simplified form of the character 豐 (fēng), meaning "abundant" or "rich". The original meaning of 封 was "to build a mound or hill", which later extended to mean "to seal" or "to close". In ancient China, mounds were often used as landmarks or boundary markers, and the act of sealing was seen as a way to protect or secure something. The character 封 can also be used as a verb, meaning "to confer a title or rank" or "to appoint someone to a position". In this sense, it is often used in the context of government or officialdom.
