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弈 is a phonosemantic compound combining the semantic component 廾 (two hands) at the bottom with the phonetic 亦 above. The 廾 radical, depicting two hands offering or handling objects, here suggests the placement of stones in the board game Go, which the character originally denoted, both the game itself and the action of playing it. In some classical works, 弈 was also used with the extended senses "grand" or "abundant", but its core meaning remains Go and the playing of strategic games.
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