虱 (shī) — louse
Definition
虱 (shī) is a bound literary/classical form — it almost never stands alone and surfaces mainly in the set phrase 虱子 (shīzi, 'louse'), the everyday spoken word for the insect.
bound form
louse
Examples
- 。Tóu fa shàng yǒu shī zi.There are lice in the hair.
- 。Zhè zhǒng yào kě yǐ shā sǐ shī zi.This medicine can kill lice.
- 。Māo shēn shàng cháng le shī zi.The cat has lice on its body.
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.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 蝨; 虱 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
䖵䖵䖵
Sound part声符shēngfú
卂
卂xùn蝨shī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 蝨 pairs 䖵, the meaning part, with 卂, the sound part. The simplified 虱 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.
Appears in
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