About
The character 箸 (zhù) is a phono-semantic compound with a top-bottom structure. The upper component is the semantic radical 竹 (zhú), meaning bamboo, which indicates the material historically used for this eating utensil. The lower component 者 (zhě) serves as the phonetic element, providing the sound "zhu". 箸 is the classical term for chopsticks in East Asia, though in modern Mandarin it is largely replaced by 筹子 (kuàizi), surviving mainly in dialects, historical texts, and some formal compounds.