唆 (suō) — to instigate, to incite
Definition
唆 (suō) is a bound morpheme meaning 'to incite / instigate' — it almost never stands alone and pairs with 挑 (tiǎo) to form the verb 挑唆 'to stir up trouble'.
bound form
to instigateto incite
Examples
- 。Tā jiào suō nián qīng rén qù fàn zuì.He instigated young people to commit crimes.
- 。Yǒu rén zài bèi hòu suō shǐ tā zhè yàng zuò.Someone instigated him from behind to do this.
- ，。Bié tīng tā de tiǎo suō, wǒ men yào lěng jìng.Don't listen to his instigation, we need to stay calm.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
夋
夋qūn唆suō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The left part 口 shows a mouth, and the right part 夋 was chosen for its sound.
Appears in
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