About
The character for "leaf" in its traditional form, "葉", is structurally composed of the grass or plant radical atop the older character "枼", which itself hints at thin, flat objects through its components. Originally denoting the foliage of a plant, its meaning broadened metaphorically over centuries to encompass similar flat, layered objects such as pages in a book and, by further extension, historical periods or eras. The simplified form "叶", while officially adopted later, is not a modern invention but an ancient variant character that was historically used to represent the meaning "to harmonize", a usage derived from its role as a phonetic loan in classical texts. Thus, the contemporary character "叶" now carries this dual historical legacy, primarily signifying a leaf while retaining a vestigial connection to its separate etymological past as a term for accord.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
树叶是绿色的。
秋天叶子变黄了。
我喜欢收集美丽的树叶。
茶叶来自茶树。
叶教授是著名的科学家。
这片叶子的形状很独特。
叶绿素是植物进行光合作用的关键。
在显微镜下，叶细胞的结构清晰可见。