臼, a pictographic character of a mortar used to husk or pestle rice, serves as semantic component to form characters. Also, it can serve phonetic component to form some characters. Characters formed by the semantic component mortar 臼 express things related to mortar or hand. Continue reading “Component mortar used to husk or pestle rice 臼”
耒 a wooden plow
耒 lěi, originally a wooden plow, serves as a semantic component to form characters. The characters formed by耒 express things related to farm tools or farm work, e.g. 耕, 耘, 耙, 耗, 耢, 耥, 耜, etc.
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Component 尢
尢 yóu, serves as a semantic component to form characters. Among thecharacters composed of 尢, these three 尤, 尴 and 尬 are used very often. Continue reading “Component 尢”
且 a stone altar
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”
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”