左 (zuǒ) — left (direction, side)
Definition
左 (zuǒ) names the direction itself — use it as a noun or to modify a noun (左手, 左边). 左边 specifically means 'the left side' (a location), while 左 alone is just the direction.
noun
left (direction, side)
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 。Tā yòng zuǒ shǒu xiě zì.He uses his left hand to write.
- 左。Qǐng wǎng zuǒ zǒu.Please go left.
- 左。zuǒ Hé yòu bù yí yàng.Left and right are different.
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
𠂇
𠂇𠂇左zuǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
左 grew from the picture 𠂇, a left hand, with 工 (work) added later.
Appears in
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