王 (wáng) — (bound form) king; royal (used in compounds)

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'king' or 'royal' — not used alone. It appears inside compounds like 国王 (king of a country) or 皇室 (royal family).

bound form

kingroyal (used in compounds)

。
Tā shì zhè ge guó jiā de guó wáng.
He is the king of this country.
。
wáng Zǐ hěn xiǎo jiù xué huì le qí mǎ.
The prince learned to ride a horse at a very young age.
。
wáng Shì chéng yuán cān jiā le qìng diǎn.
Members of the royal family attended the celebration.

Pictograph

六书liùshū

象形xiàngxíng

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Appears in