Definitions
(verb)
to use; to employ
(verb)
to need; to have to
(noun)
expense; cost
Etymology
Depicts a bucket with a handle on the right side. Based on the original meaning "bucket". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "use".
About
The character 用, denoting use or application, has carried a consistent core meaning of utility throughout its historical development, with its fundamental sense of putting objects or ideas into service remaining stable from early inscriptions to contemporary language. Etymological explanations often propose an original pictographic representation of a vessel or implement, a form which gradually streamlined into its present structure through natural orthographic processes. Structurally, it is now considered an indivisible character, though some traditional analyses linked it to components suggesting purpose or functional employment. Over time, while its graphic representation consolidated, the semantic range of 用 broadened contextually to incorporate associated concepts like expenditure, practical value, and the manner in which an action is performed, all deriving from its central notion of active employment.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我用筷子吃饭。
他常用电子邮件。
学习需要用心。
请用中文回答。
这种方法很实用。
我们必须合理用水。
她用幽默感化解了尴尬。
工程师们正在用新技术改进产品。