Characters 6

家 jiā : family, home, household

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

口 kǒu : (mouth) / classifier for the number of family members

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

有 yǒu : to have

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

个 gè : classifier for people / general classifier (see the grammar)

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

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

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

和 hé : and

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Graphic components: 禾 grain; 口 mouth.
Etymology : 和 hé is a character composed of 禾 hé "grain" and of 口 kǒu, "mouth"). Originally, it symbolizedharmony through the image of a grain field (禾) feeding a community (口), evolving toward concepts of peace, ofbalance and ofaccord (e.g. 和平 hépíng, "peace"; 和谐 héxié, "harmony").

爸 bà : (dad)

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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 of the phonetic component 巴 bā. Originally, it was a familiar and affectionate term for the father, combining the meaning of "paternal kinship" (父) with a sound indication (巴).

妈 mā : (mom)

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Graphic components: 女 woman; 马 horse.
Etymology : 妈 mā is the simplified form of 媽, a phono-semantic compound composed of 女 (nǚ, "woman", semantic component) and of 馬 (mǎ, "horse", phonetic component). The character combines the idea of a female figure (mother) with the pronunciation "ma" carried by 马. It evolved to specifically designate the mother, often used affectionately.

子 zǐ : (son) / suffix

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

孩 hái : child

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Graphic components: 子 child; 亥 hài 12^e earthly branch.
Etymology : 孩 hái is a phono-semantic compound composed of the child 子 zǐ and of the phonetic component 亥 hài (12^e earthly branch). The character appears in classical texts to specifically designate a young laughing child.

哥 gē : (elder brother)

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Graphic components: 可 kě can.
Etymology : 哥 gē is a character composed of two 可 kě ("can") stacked. This phonetic duplication originally symbolized the familiar term for an elder brother, today expressed by 哥哥 gēge. The character also embodies relationships of respect and camaraderie, as in 大哥 dàgē ("elder brother" or "respected leader").

姐 jiě : elder sister

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Graphic components: 女 woman; 且 phonetic element qiě.
Etymology : 姐 jiě is composed of two elements: the woman radical 女 on the left, which indicates that the character is related to the feminine gender, and the phonetic part 且 qiě, which gives an indication of the pronunciation. Originally, 且 qiě represented a lingam 且.

弟 dì : (younger brother)

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Graphic components: 弓 bow.
Etymology : 弟 dì is borrowed from an ancient character representing a cord wound around a post, indicating that binding posts with a cord, turn after turn, is done in an orderly way. The original meaning is "order". It was borrowed phonetically to designate the younger brother.

妹 mèi : (younger sister)

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Graphic components: 女 woman; 未 wèi not yet.
Etymology : 妹 mèi is a phono-semantic compound composed of 女 nǚ "woman" and of the phonetic component 未 wèi (not yet). It specifically designates a younger sister.