About
The character 罅, meaning a crack or fissure, is structured with the radical 缶 representing earthenware and the component 虖 serving as a phonetic indicator, which together suggest an original sense tied to flaws in ceramic vessels. Its meaning gradually broadened from describing specific breaks in pottery to encompassing any narrow gap or opening in various materials, demonstrating a semantic expansion over time while maintaining its core reference to splits.
Etymology Hide
