蚀 
= 
in the seal script, it consists of three parts, 虫 worm or insect, 食 food utensil, and 人. The character in seal script depicts a worm eats into a man’s food. Continue reading “蚀 insects eat into a man’s things”
匙 don’t tilt the spoon when scooping
匙 is a phono-semantic compound character composed of 是 and 匕. 是 serves as phonetic component and 匕 semantic. In the seal script, 
= 
（correct, exact） 
(a spoon) Continue reading “匙 don’t tilt the spoon when scooping”
宜 evolved from a noun to an adjective
宜 is a compound ideograph. The oracle bone script of 宜 depicts two pieces of meat on a sacrificial vessel. The line in the middle of the two pieces of meat could mean “divide or share equally”. Continue reading “宜 evolved from a noun to an adjective”
丬cognate of 爿
丬, cognate of 爿, has the same origin as 爿, serves as a semantic component to form characters. Both 丬and 爿 denote wood or things related to wood. Continue reading “丬cognate of 爿”
匿 a woman hides away
匿 is compound ideograph. 匸 resembles a container or a wall, and 若 depicts a woman. 匿 originally meant a woman hides away. Continue reading “匿 a woman hides away”