丩, cognate of 纠, a pictographic character of a tangled rope, serves as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “丩 tangled rope”
凵 a pit in the ground
凵, cognate of 坎, is a pictographic character. 凵 serves as a semantic component to form characters which express meanings related to “hollow, sunken, depressed, sunk, etc” such as bowl, trap, groove, ridge, pit, etc. Continue reading “凵 a pit in the ground”
工 carpenter’s square
工, a pictographic character of a carpenter’s square or a bladed tool, serves as a semantic as well as a phonetic component to form character. Continue reading “工 carpenter’s square”
辰 a hoe
辰, a pictographic character resembling a hoe held by a hand, serves mainly as a phonetic component to form characters. 辰 also serves as a semantic component to express meanings related to farm work. Another version for the origin of辰 is that it resembled a farming tool made of seashells. Continue reading “辰 a hoe”
斗 a wine ladle
斗, a pictographic character of a wine ladle, serves as a semantic as well as a phonetic component to form characters. Continue reading “斗 a wine ladle”