专, originally composed of a spindle and a hand. The character in oracle bone script and bronze script depicts a hand holding a spindle to weave. The original meaning of 专 is a spindle. 专 serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “专 a spindle”
传 post-chaise
In oracle bone script, 传 
= 
(人 a man) + 
(专, a hand holding a weaving spindle), suggesting the action of turning over or exchange. Continue reading “传 post-chaise”
古 ancient
古 is a compound ideograph. 古 = 十 + 口. 十 means countless in ancient Chinese; 口 is a mouth. 古 depicts that ancient stories were told by countless people and passed down through generations, so the original meaning of 古 is “ancient/old”.
若 a woman tidying her hair
若 is a pictographic character. The oracle bone script 
depicts a woman tidying her hair with both hands, indicating that a woman is meek and obedient. Continue reading “若 a woman tidying her hair”
几 a long narrow table
几, a pictographic character of a long narrow table, serves as a semantic as well as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “几 a long narrow table”