Lesson 5

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “中” resembles an upright flag, with two flag tassels at the top and bottom fluttering in the wind. The “口” in the middle of the two tassels represents the meaning of “center.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “餐” is a phono-semantic compound. In Oracle Bone Script, the lower component “食” represents food, with the lower part resembling a container filled with food and the upper part resembling a lid. The upper component serves as the phonetic indicator, as the ancient pronunciations them were similar. Characters with the “食” radical are often related to food, such as “餓” (è; hungry), “飯” (fàn; rice/meal), and “館” (guǎn; restaurant).

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient Chinese script, the character “走” depicts a person swinging their arms while running forward. The lower part of the character is “止,” which represents toes, emphasizing the act of running. In modern Chinese, characters with the radical “走” are often associated with actions related to running or walking, such as 越 (to surpass), 起 (to rise), 赶 (to hurry), and 超 (to exceed).

Chinese Studies Classroom: The original meaning of the character “學” (xué) is “awakening.” In bronze script, the component “子” (zǐ) represents a child, while “冖” (mì) signifies a state of ignorance. “臼” (jiù) is a phonetic component, representing the sound of the character in ancient times. Because a child is ignorant, they need to learn.

Chinese Studies Classroom: The radical “阝” can appear on either the left or the right side of a Chinese character. When it is on the left, it is derived from the character “阜” (fù). The original meaning of “阜” is a hill, so when “阝” appears on the left side of a character, the character’s meaning is often related to mountains or terrain, such as “险” (xiǎn, dangerous), “阴” (yīn, shade), and “阳” (yáng, sun).

Chinese Studies Classroom: The radical “阝” can appear on either the left or the right side of a Chinese character. When it is on the right side, it is derived from the character “邑” (yì), which is associated with cities. Therefore, when this radical appears on the right side, the character’s meaning is often related to towns or place names, such as “都” (dū, capital), “郊” (jiāo, suburb), “邦” (bāng, state).

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “近 (jìn)” is a phono-semantic compound. Its radical is “辶,” which was originally written as “辵 (chuò),” signifying movement or action. The inner component is “斤 (jīn),” which provides the phonetic cue, indicating that “斤(jīn)” and “近(jìn)” had similar pronunciations in ancient times. The original meaning of “近” refers to a short distance, opposite to “遠/远” (yuǎn; far). Over time, it extended to signify a short duration or close relationships between people.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient characters, the left side of “飯” is “食,” which looks like rice on a table, and the right side is “反.” “食” indicates something related to food, while “反” represents the pronunciation

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “館” is a phono-semantic compound. Its radical is “食,” which originally means eating, indicating that “館” is related to food or dining. The right component, “官,” serves as the phonetic element. The original meaning of “館” refers to a house for hosting guests. Over time, it extended to mean a luxurious residence, embassies, consulates, shops, or places for cultural activities.

Chinese Studies Classroom: One interpretation of the character “四” is that in ancient bronze script, its shape resembled something divided into four parts.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “川” resembles a winding, ever-flowing river. The two curved lines on either side represent the riverbanks, while the small dots in the middle symbolize the flowing water.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “服” depicts a small boat on the left, a person kneeling and facing left in the center, and a hand on the right pressing down on him. This imagery represents someone being made to kneel and obey the command to board the boat. Therefore, the original meaning of “服” is “to obey” or “to submit.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: The original meaning of “麻” refers to a general term for hemp plants. To process the fibers of these plants into materials for weaving, the fibers must be separated strand by strand, which gave rise to the extended meanings of “disorder” and “trouble.” When used as a verb, it means “numb” or “tingle.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the left side of “好” is “女,” which can represent a woman or a mother, and the right side is “子,” which can represent a child or a male. One interpretation is that in matrilineal societies, women were highly respected, partly due to their ability to bear and raise children. The meaning of “好” as “good” or “beautiful” likely stems from this association with women’s role in reproduction and child-rearing. In ancient times, the act of women giving birth and raising children was regarded as a virtue, which led to the extension of the meaning of “good” or “beautiful.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “點” (diǎn) is a phono-semantic compound. On the left is the component “黑” (hēi, black), which, in Oracle Bone Script, depicts fire at the bottom and a chimney above. The meaning of “黑” originates from the black soot produced by smoke rising from the fire. The right side of “點” serves as the phonetic element, indicating that “占” (zhān) and “點” (diǎn) had similar pronunciations in ancient times. The original meaning of “點” referred to black marks created by soot. Over time, it extended to mean “dot,” “speck,” “tiny amount,” or “a little.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “朋” (péng) originally depicted two shells side by side and historically represented a “pair” or “set,” as shells were used as currency in ancient China. This pairing concept extended to mean “friends” or “companions,” as it implies two individuals linked closely, much like a pair.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “再” is shaped like a fish with a horizontal line added at both the head and tail, symbolizing catching another fish. Therefore, “再” carries the meanings of “twice,” “second,” and “again.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: One interpretation of the character “言” is that, in ancient scripts, it looks like a horizontal line added to “舌” (tongue), representing words spoken through the tongue, which means “language.” Characters that include the “言” radical are often related to speech or language, such as 說 (shuō-speak), 話 (huà-word), 語 (yǔ-language), 談 (tán-discuss), etc.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “為” depicts an elephant with a hand above its head. The original meaning of the character was to lead the elephant by hand, symbolizing taking action. Later, the character evolved from the meaning of “doing” to also represent “for,” “on behalf of,” or “because of.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient characters, the outer component of “定” is “宀,” which represents a house. Below it is a foot (“止”) heading toward a moat. When these three components are combined, they symbolize a person returning home after a war and settling down. Therefore, the original meaning of “定” is “to settle” or “to establish peace.” Since stability implies no further changes, the character later expanded to include meanings such as fixed, stable, certain, and decided.

Chinese Studies Classroom: “特” is a phono-semantic compound character. The left side, “牛,” is a meaning component representing a bull, while the right side, “寺,” is a phonetic component, indicating that the pronunciation of “特” and “寺” was similar in ancient times. The original meaning of “特” referred to a large bull. Later, it expanded to mean unique, special, or outstanding, deriving from the idea of something large or exceptional.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the character “别” consists of two components: on the left, a “knife” (刀), and on the right, the “skeleton” of an animal (骨). Together, these elements represent the act of using a knife to separate flesh from bone. Over time, this original meaning evolved to include concepts such as “distinguish,” “difference,” “category,” and “other.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: One explanation is that in the Bronze Script, the character “是” consists of a sundial on top and the character “正” (upright) below, with the basic meaning of upright and not skewed. It later extended to mean correctness and further evolved into a response word, expressing agreement or approval. After the Han dynasty, “是” was used as a copula to indicate judgment.

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “常 (cháng)” is a phono-semantic compound. The upper part, “尚 (shàng),” serves as the phonetic component, while the lower part, “巾 (jīn),” provides the semantic element. In oracle bone script, “巾 (jīn)” referred to a silk scarf worn as part of everyday attire, with its shape resembling the draping of a scarf on clothing. Over time, the meaning of “常 (cháng)” extended to signify “everyday,” “ordinary,” and “frequently.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “嘗” is a phono-semantic compound. The upper part, “尚,” serves as the phonetic component, indicating that “尚” and “嘗” had similar pronunciations in ancient times. The lower part depicts a mouth with a spoon above it, symbolizing the act of bringing food to the mouth. Thus, the original meaning of “嘗” is to use the mouth and tongue to taste and discern flavors.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the upper part of the character “習” resembles the feathers of a young bird, while the lower part represents the sun. This character can be understood as a bird repeatedly flapping its wings under the sunlight to practice flying. Thus, the fundamental meaning of “習” is to practice or learn. Over time, it extended to mean “review” and later came to signify habits formed through repeated actions.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In oracle bone script, the upper part of the character “家” (宀) represents a roof, while the lower part (豕) resembles a pig. The original meaning of “家” was a house or dwelling, and it later extended to mean “family.”

Chinese Studies Classroom: In ancient characters, the left side of “飯” is “食,” which looks like rice on a table, and the right side is “反.” “食” indicates something related to food, while “反” represents the pronunciation.

Chinese Studies Classroom: The character “館” is a phono-semantic compound. Its radical is “食,” which originally means eating, indicating that “館” is related to food or dining. The right component, “官,” serves as the phonetic element. The original meaning of “館” refers to a house for hosting guests. Over time, it extended to mean a luxurious residence, embassies, consulates, shops, or places for cultural activities.

Chinese Studies Classroom: In Oracle Bone Script, the character “魚” (fish) resembles the shape of a fish.