Characters of Lesson 2

认 rèn : (to recognize)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 讠 speech; 人 rén person.
Etymology: 认 rèn is the simplified form of 認. It consists of two parts: the speech radical 讠 (a simplification of 言, meaning "speech" or "language"), which indicates a connection with communication or cognition, and the phonetic component 忍 rěn, meaning "to endure" or "to tolerate". This component was later replaced by 人 rén "person" in the simplified character. Together, these components express the idea of "recognizing" or "identifying" through speech or knowledge.

识 shí : (to know)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 讠 speech; 口 mouth; 八 eight.
Etymology: 识 shí or shì means "to know", "to recognize", or "to understand". This character is the simplified form of 識. It consists of the speech radical 讠 (a simplification of 言), indicating a connection with communication or knowledge, and the phonetic component 戠 shì (to gather), which was later simplified to 只 zhǐ (only).

高 gāo : to be tall, high

Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 亠 lid; 口 mouth; 冂 inverted box.
Etymology: 高 gāo is a pictogram representing a multi-story building or tower, symbolizing something tall or high. In ancient inscriptions, the structure resembled a building with a distinctive roof and stacked levels, visually evoking the idea of height or elevation.

兴 xìng : (interest, enthusiasm)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: ⺍ small (upper variant of 小), 一 one, 八 eight.
Etymology: 兴 xīng or xìng means "to prosper", "to flourish", or "to be enthusiastic". This character is the simplified form of 興. It is composed at the top of two elements 臼 (mortar) which are actually the stylization of two hands surrounding 同 (together). The two strokes below 八 also represented two hands. Originally, the character evoked the idea of gathering or lifting something as a group, which evolved into the meaning of prosperity or enthusiasm.

男 nán : man, male

Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 田 field; 力 strength.
Etymology: 男 nán is composed of 田 tián (field) and 力 lì (strength). Originally, it represented the muscular work in fields, a role traditionally assigned to men. By extension, it refers to the "male gender".

女 nǚ : girl, woman
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 女 is a graphical component.
Etymology: 女 nǚ is an archaic pictogram representing a kneeling woman with her hands crossed in front of her, a posture associated with traditional social roles of women in ancient China. This character symbolizes womanhood, femininity, and by extension, concepts related to the female gender. It also serves as a component in many characters evoking family relationships or social roles (e.g. 姐 "elder sister", 婚 "marriage").

白 bái : white (it is also a very common family name)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 白 white.
Etymology: 白 bái is a pictogram originally representing a rising sun. It later denoted the white color of sunlight.

士 shì : scholar, learned person
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 士 is a graphical component.
Etymology: 士 shì is an ideogram. The ancient form represented an axe planted in the ground, symbolizing the warrior. Later, the meaning evolved to refer to a cultivated man, a scholar, and then an honorary title.

先 xiān : first
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: ⺧ variant of 牛 "cattle"; 儿 son.
Etymology: 先 xiān consists of two parts: 儿 at the bottom, representing a person, and the upper component ⺧ (a simplified form of 牛, meaning "cow" or "cattle"). Originally, ⺧ represented a footprint. It was the stylization of the character that gradually brought it closer to the character 牛 (cow). The combination of elements suggests a person who moves forward first or who is ahead, symbolizing the idea of priority or anteriority.

生 shēng : to be born

Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 生 is a graphical component.
Etymology: 生 shēng is a pictogram representing a plant growing out of the ground, symbolizing the idea of growth, life, or birth. The lower part represents the earth, while the upper part evokes a sprout emerging from it.

呢 ne : question particle that repeats the question
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 口 mouth; 尼 phonetic component ne / ni.
Etymology: 呢 ne is an ideophonogram. It is composed of 口, the mouth, indicating the act of opening the mouth to speak, and 尼 ne / ní (to be close, intimate), which indicates the sound of this character. 尼 ne / ní represented two people close together.

对 duì : to face, toward (part of the word "sorry" duìbùqǐ)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 又 right hand; 寸 thumb.
Etymology: 对 duì is an ideogram. This character has been simplified. The traditional form 對 represented a bush on a mound of earth on the left and a hand on the right. It indicated the action of taking good care of plants, then the strong growth of the latter. It was later borrowed to mean "to be exact" and "to face".

起 qǐ : (to rise, to get up), does not stand alone (part of the word "sorry" duìbùqǐ)
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 走 to walk; 己 jǐ oneself.
Etymology: 起 qǐ is an ideophonogram composed of 走 to walk and the phonetic element 己 jǐ. Together, the character evokes the idea of getting up or starting, symbolizing the beginning of an action or movement.

没 méi : negation of the verb "to have" and of any verb in a past context

Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 氵 water; 殳 spear.
Etymology: 没 méi is an ideogram formed from water 氵 and, in its oldest form, a whirlpool and a hand. It meant "to take an object out of the water". Later, the right part was replaced by 殳 shū, the spear component.

关 guān : to close

Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 丷 inverted number 8; 天 sky.
Etymology: 关 guān is an ideogram. The traditional character 關 is formed from the door 門 and a set that represented locks 幺幺丱. The character evokes the idea of a closed door, then of "closing" in general. It has been simplified to 关.

系 xì : (to join, to tie), does not stand alone. It loses its tone in the word 关系 guānxi (link, relationship).
Character decomposition:

Graphical components: 丿 oblique stroke; 幺 tiny; 小 small.
Etymology: 系 xì is an ideogram. The ancient character represented a quipu, and by extension, "to tie".