Characters of Lesson 6

家 jiā: family, home, household

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 宀 roof; 豕 pig.
Etymology: 家 jiā is a pictogram composed of 宀 “roof” and 豕 shǐ “pig,” symbolizing ancient dwellings where inhabitants lived above domestic animals.

口 kǒu: (mouth) / classifier for family members

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 口.
Etymology: 口 kǒu is a primitive pictogram representing an open mouth.

有 yǒu: to have

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 𠂇 left hand; 月 moon/meat.
Etymology: 有 yǒu is an ancient ideogram representing a left hand holding a piece of meat. This character combines 𠂇 (variant of 手, hand) and 月 (originally 肉, meat), symbolizing material possession. It later evolved to express existence (there is...) and abstract possession (to have). The “meat” character 肉 ròu merged with the moon 月 when used as a component.

个 gè: human classifier / general classifier (see grammar)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 人 person.
Etymology: 个 gè is an old simplified form of 個. Originally, it represented a section of bamboo or an individual unit. This character is mainly used as a universal classifier.

两 liǎng: the number "two" for time and quantities (see grammar)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 一 one; 冂 inverted box; 人 human.
Etymology: 两 liǎng is the simplified form of 兩, originally representing a balance and later serving as a unit of measure (50 grams).

和 hé: and

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 禾 cereal; 口 mouth.
Etymology: 和 hé is a character composed of 禾 hé “cereal” and 口 kǒu, “mouth.” Originally, it symbolized harmony through the image of a cereal field (禾) nourishing a community (口), evolving into concepts of peace, balance and agreement (e.g. 和平 hépíng, “peace”; 和谐 héxié, “harmony”).

爸 bà: (dad)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 父 father; 巴 is not a graphic component but a phonetic element (ba). As a component, 巴 is often referred to as the boa.
Etymology: 爸 bà is a character composed of 父 fù, “father”) and the phonetic component 巴 bā. Originally, it was a familiar and affectionate term for father, combining the idea of “paternal kinship” (父) with a sound clue (巴).

妈 mā: (mom)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 女 woman; 马 horse.
Etymology: 妈 mā is the simplified form of 媽, an ideophonogram composed of 女 (nǚ, “woman,” semantic component) and 馬 (mǎ, “horse,” phonetic component). The character links the idea of a female figure (mother) with the sound “ma” carried by 马. It evolved to specifically mean mother, often used affectionately.

子 zǐ: (son) / suffix

Character decomposition:

子 is a graphic component.
Etymology: 子 zǐ is an archaic pictogram representing a swaddled newborn, with a prominent head and raised arms.

儿 ér: (son) / suffix
Character decomposition:

Components: 儿 is a graphic component.
Etymology: 儿 ér is a simplified form of the traditional character 兒. Originally, 兒 depicted an infant with a large head and a visible fontanelle, composed of 臼 (“mortar,” originally evoking the head and fontanelle) and 儿 (person, son). The modern simplification 儿, adopted in the 1950s, retains only the “person, son” component (儿). Today this character means “son,” but also serves as a suffix in words like 哪儿 (where?).

孩 hái: child

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 子 child; 亥 hài 12th earthly branch.
Etymology: 孩 hái is an ideophonogram composed of the child 子 zǐ and the phonetic component 亥 hài (12th earthly branch). In classical texts, the character was used to denote a young child who laughs.

哥 gē: (older brother)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 可 kě can.
Etymology: 哥 gē is a character made of two stacked 可 kě (“can”) characters. This phonetic duplication originally symbolized a familiar name for an older brother, now expressed by 哥哥 gēge. The character also embodies relationships of respect and camaraderie, as in 大哥 dàgē (“big brother” or “respected leader”).

姐 jiě: older sister

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 女 woman; 且 phonetic element qiě.
Etymology: 姐 jiě is composed of two elements: the woman radical 女 on the left, indicating the character is related to the female gender, and the phonetic part 且 qiě, which gives a pronunciation clue. Originally, 且 qiě depicted a lingam 且.

弟 dì: (younger brother)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 弓 bow.
Etymology: 弟 dì is borrowed from an ancient character depicting a rope coiled around a post, indicating that tying posts with a rope, round after round, is done in an orderly fashion. The original meaning is “order.” It was borrowed phonetically to mean younger brother.

妹 mèi: (younger sister)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 女 woman; 未 wèi not yet.
Etymology: 妹 mèi is an ideophonogram composed of 女 nǚ “woman” and the phonetic component 未 wèi (not yet). It specifically denotes a younger sister.