Definitions

dumb, mute

Etymology phono-semantic

sickness

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is a phono-semantic compound: the enclosing radical places it in the domain of sickness and disease, while the inner component (a simplification of ) supplies the pronunciation. The traditional form, , retains the unsimplified . The character's meaning is the medical condition of being mute, having lost one's voice, or suffering from severe hoarseness as a result of illness or physical impairment. This explicitly marks the inability to speak as a physical ailment, not a temporary silence.