There are multiple interpretations as to the origin of 且. One of them is that 且 is a pictographic character of a stone altar or memorial tablet. 且 serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “且 a stone altar”
Category: Decode Characters
平 airflow passes and disperses
In bronze inscriptions, it 平 is composed of 于 (airflow passing obstacles) and 八 (moving in separate directions). That’s to say, the airflow passes and disperses. Seal script suggests a comfortable（兮）and calm（一）tone. Regular script resembles an object with two equal halves. 平 serves as semantic component to form characters. Continue reading “平 airflow passes and disperses”
册 a book of bamboo slips
册, a pictographic character resembling vertical slips of bamboo strung together by two strings, serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “册 a book of bamboo slips”
皿 utensil for meals
皿, a pictographic character representing a utensil or vessel for meals, serves as a semantic component to form characters. The characters formed by the semantic component 皿 express meanings related to utensil, vessel, container, box, etc such as 盆, 盘, 盅, 盂, 盛, 盏, 盒, 盖 and so on. Continue reading “皿 utensil for meals”
Component 白 light emitted by the rising sun
白, a pictographic character of the light emitted by the rising sun, serves as semantic component to form characters. Characters formed by the semantic component 白 have to do with bright, white or express extended meanings. 白 can also serve as phonetic component. Continue reading “Component 白 light emitted by the rising sun”