Characters of Lesson 9

日 rì : sun, day (date)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 日 is a graphic component.
Etymology: 日 rì is an archaic pictogram representing the sun. Originally, it depicted a solar disk with a central dot ⊙, evolving into a square shape with a horizontal line for readability and stylization. This character symbolizes both the sun and the concept of a day, foundational to time cycles in Chinese culture.

天 tiān : day (duration), sky

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 一 one; 大 big.
Etymology: 天 tiān is an ancient pictogram depicting a person standing under a vast sky, symbolizing celestial immensity. Originally, the character depicted a stylized human head (大, “big”) topped by a horizontal stroke (一), evoking the celestial vault. Today it means sky, day (duration), or abstract concepts like the divine (e.g. 天意, “heavenly will”) and nature (e.g. 天然, “natural”).

年 nián : year

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 年 is a graphic component.
Etymology: 年 nián is an ancient pictogram representing a person carrying a sheaf of grain, symbolizing the annual harvest. This character links the idea of agricultural cycles to that of time, designating a year.

今 jīn : (present, current)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 人 person; 一 one (graphic variant).
Etymology: 今 jīn is an ancient pictogram originally depicting a lid or symbolic closure, evolving into the idea of the present (what “covers” the past).

号 hào : number, day of the month (colloquial)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 口 mouth; 丂 exhale.
Etymology: The traditional form 號 hào combines the tiger 虎 hǔ, mouth 口 and the phonetic component 丂 kǎo. It originally represented a powerful roar, evoking a tiger’s cry. The modern simplified form 号 retains only the left part of the character, omitting the tiger component. By semantic extension, it developed the meanings “number,” “appellation,” and “distinctive sign.”

半 bàn : half, semi-

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 八 eight; 牛 ox.
Etymology: 半 bàn is a compound of 八 (bā, “eight,” symbolizing division) and 牛 (niú, “ox”). It originally depicted the action of dividing an ox into two equal parts, hence the sense of half.

时 shí : (time, moment)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 日 sun; 寸 inch.
Etymology: 时 shí is the simplified form of 時, composed of 日 rì “sun” and 寺 sì “temple” (phonetic component). Originally, 時 symbolized seasons or solar cycles. The simplified form replaces 寺 with 寸 cùn “inch” (in the sense of measurement), preserving the idea of measured time.

候 hòu : (period, moment, to wait)

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 亻 person; 矢 arrow.
Etymology: 候 hòu is a compound of 亻 (rén, “person”) and 侯 (hóu, “marquis”). It originally symbolized a hunting ambush 侯, evolving to the sense “to wait” then “moment.”

在 zài : to be at, to be located at

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 才 cái talent; 土 earth.
Etymology: 在 zài is composed of 土 tǔ (earth) at the bottom and 才 cái (talent) at the top. Originally, 才 symbolized a young sprout emerging from the soil, combined with 土 to evoke presence or existence in a concrete place. This character evolved to express location (“to be at”) and state (“to exist”), reflecting the link between nourishing earth and the notion of permanence.

看 kàn : to see, to look

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 手 hand; 目 eye.
Etymology: 看 kàn is an ideogram composed of 手 shǒu “hand” above 目 mù “eye,” symbolizing a hand shielding the eyes to look into the distance.

读 dú : to read, to study

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 讠 speech; 卖 sell.
Etymology: 读 dú (simplified form of 讀) is made up of 讠 yán (speech, simplified form of 言) and 卖 mài (sell). Originally, it represented the action of reading aloud, as when selling in the market.

去 qù : to go, to leave

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 土 earth; 厶 private.
Etymology: 去 qù is an ideogram representing originally a person leaving their home, symbolizing the idea of departing or leaving.

来 lái : to come

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 来 is a graphic component.
Etymology: 来 lái is a phonetic borrowing from a pictogram originally depicting an ear of wheat or a tree with fruit. The traditional character 來 clearly shows this plant form. It was borrowed for the sense “to come” because of its pronunciation.

回 huí : to return, to come back

Character decomposition:

Graphic components: 囗 enclosure; 口 mouth.
Etymology: 回 huí is an ancient pictogram depicting a spiral or circular movement, symbolizing the idea of return or repetition. The two nested squares visually evoke this rotational or back-and-forth motion.