尔 (ěr) — (bound morpheme) you, your (classical); appears in set phrases
Definition
尔 (ěr) is a classical pronoun meaning 'you' or 'your', used today mainly inside set phrases like 尔后 and 尔虞我诈 — not in everyday speech.
pronoun
(bound morpheme) youyour (classical)appears in set phrases
Examples
- ，。ěr Hòu, tā zài yě méi yǒu huí lái.After that, he never came back.
- 。Tā men zhī jiān chōng mǎn le ěr yú wǒ zhà.There is mutual deception between them.
- 尔。ěr Zì xíng zài hàn zì zhōng cháng jiàn.The character '尔' is commonly seen in Chinese characters.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.
The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.
Appears in
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